The Yibirth Macisto
by Pax the Dreamer
Summary: When a young, bullied Squirrel finds a book that creates his own fantasy world, Lucy, Mike, Paulo and friends have to band together and stop this dream from becoming a nightmare. Fanfic based on a dream I had. Dreams, they seem to be a pattern, eh?
1. Chapter 1: Bullied

**Author's Note: This is the very first thing I would consider a "real" fanfic that I'm gonna write. It's based after a dream I had a few nights ago, and I finally pieced all the parts together in my head… well, most of them anyway. So, HERE! WE! GO!**

**Disclaimer: Bittersweet Candy Bowl and all related characters are owned by Taeshi. So go read her webcomic, fool!**

**Disclaimer 2: I'M NOT A FURRY SO DON'T ASK OKAY**

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><p><em><strong>Pax the Dreamer Presents<strong>_

_**A Bittersweet Candy Bowl Fanfic**_

_**The Yibirth Macisto**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 1: Bullied<strong>_

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><p>When you're hurt, it's easy to get angry. And in that anger, you do things that you would never do otherwise. It's easy to hurt when you're hurt. Just beware… and watch out that you don't become the thing you seek to destroy.<p>

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><p><em><strong>Enter Lucy:<strong>_

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><p>My name's Lucy, as you can see from the "Enter Lucy" not two lines above this one. I'm fifteen years old, a sophomore at the High School, and I'll be the first to admit I can be hotheaded at times. You could also say that I'm also stubborn, clingy, and have Bipolar disorder, but shut up, who asked you?<p>

I have a few pets that look up to me like a mother. There's Yashi, a little creature that looks a bit like a baby Yoshi from Mario games, a little bird, and there's even this hedgehog that mothers me more than my own mother does.

Oh yeah, and I was told to specify I'm a cat. Apparently, this detail can be missed by you humans. I live in a world where animals, like dogs and cats, walk on two legs and talk.

Now that's out of the way, I guess I have to tell you how I look to paint a picture in your mind. Instead, I'm just going to point to the webcomic and say "look it up you retards." Anything that can be described by just spending the effort to get off your lazy ass and look it up yourself I'm skipping over.

I've got a few friends that I go to school with, too. There's Daisy, who has an amazing brain, but good God, she has practically no common sense at all! She's one of those people you can honestly see being raped if you don't keep an eye on her.

There's also her boyfriend, Abby. He's a sweet enough guy, wrapped around Daisy's little finger, though. I wouldn't be surprised if I walked by one day and saw them leaving the Mall, Abby carrying all of Daisy's bags like a pack mule. Of course, Daisy's too nice to do that to him. Anyway, to every good side there's a bad. Abby has some… issues. A lot of anger bottled up. I never really did learn what exactly it was all about, but I'm pretty sure it's about his father.

Then there's Paulo. He's not so much my friend as he is… okay, I guess you could consider him my friend. He cares about me at least… which is more than I can say for a lot of people. He can be a jackass at times, but at other times, he can really be nice… oh get that look off your face, he's taken. And I wouldn't date him if he were the last man on Earth (if you bring up the time I almost slept with him, I will hunt you down and beat you with a stick).

I don't really know a lot about his girlfriend, other than her name: Jasmine. She does a lot of extracurricular activities, but that's the extent of my knowledge.

I do know about Paulo's best friend, though. His name's David, and by God, he is quite possibly one of the stupidest beings on the face of the planet. I don't even know how he got this far in school, and I go to a lot of the same classes as him!

And then… there's Mike. Oh, Mike… he used to be my best friend… and, uh… well, I sorta… fell in love with him. He doesn't love me back, though. He's busy having a long-distance relationship with Sandy. Is there really something wrong with me? A girl he hasn't seen in years and who lives hundreds of miles away means more to him than I do…

What am I doing, writing that? This isn't a diary, this isn't the place for me to write my feelings! No… no, this is written to record one of the biggest events in my life. I'm going to tell you about the day one Squirrel almost made the whole world his bitch.

I'll begin the story the same day I started to notice. It was a Wednesday afternoon, a little sunny outside. The bell was ringing, and I was at my locker, putting my books away. Play rehearsal wasn't on that day, so I was free to go home and… do nothing, I suppose. I don't really hang out with anyone, and videogames aren't as fun when I can't whoop Mike's ass.

"Hey Lucy!" a voice called as I closed my locker. I turned to see Daisy running up to me, that classic smile on her face.

"Me and Sal were going to get our nails done," she said in a bubbly voice, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "And we were wondering if you'd like to come with us!"

Getting my nails done? Why not just strap me down in a chair and drill holes in my head?

"…no thanks," I managed. "I have a lot of homework to get done."

It wasn't technically a complete lie. I did have to read a chapter for History. Well, a section. Okay, just a page, but shut up.

"Oh… okay," Daisy said, sounding a little disappointed. "Well… maybe tomorrow?"

"I have to rehearse for the play, remember?"

"How about Friday or Saturday? Are you free on the weekend?"

I sighed inwardly. There was no escaping this girl…

"Yeah, I think I'm free this weekend," I told her.

"Yay!" she did a little jump for joy and hugged me. "Don't worry a bit, Lucy! I'll make sure to plan a wonderful day for you!"

She skipped off, leaving me to contemplate the best way to occupy my weekend without hurting her feelings. Grabbing my books, I left the school and made my way home. On the way, I heard some screaming. I turned my head to see a little seventh grader, a Squirrel, being chased by a bunch of kids with sticks.

"Leave me alone!" the Squirrel said, wincing as they threw rocks at him. I wondered for a minute if I should have done something, but by the time I made up my mind, they ran around the corner and were out of sight.

"…hope that kid's gonna be alright," I muttered, heading back home.

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><p><em><strong>Enter Ned:<strong>_

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><p>Hi, I'm the Squirrel. My name's Ned. You know… like it said above. I'm in seventh grade, and I'm 12 years old. Those guys chasing me? They're bullies. They chase me all the time. Sometimes they really hurt me, like they were trying to do that day. Most of the time I run away, but… I just tell my Mom that I fell on the swings or something, because I'm scared what they'll do to me if I tell.<p>

Well anyway, that day I was stumbling, running from the bullies. "Stop, please!" I panted, looking around for something to find. After my head was hit with a rock, I looked up to see an old abandoned house. Making a U-turn, I jumped through one of the old windows and sprinted down a set of stairs to the basement, closing the door behind me.

"Hey, where is that little fur ball?" I heard one of the bullies ask.

"Ah forget him, we'll get him tomorrow," another one said. I heard them all leave. I sat there, shaking for a minute. Then, I started crying, curling up on the ground.

"It's not-not fair…" I sobbed to myself. "Why do they hurt me like that? *Hic* I just want… I want to get away… somewhere those jerks would never find me…"

As I cried on the ground, I heard something heavy fall. I sniffled and picked my head up to see what fell. It turned out to be a book. Blinking, I reached a hand out and pulled the book closer to me. It was open on the first page, which said:

"Follow the instructions in this book, and all your dreams will come true."

I liked how that sounded. I closed the book and read the cover to see what this thing was. It was black leather, gold letters spelling out the title:

"Yibirth Macisto"

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Should he trust the book? Will his life become much better by following the instructions? Short answer, no. Welp, until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2: Building a Better World

**Author's Note: Ocarina of Time 3D is an awesome game, and Master Quest is a refreshing challenge! …but play it in a moving vehicle and you'll get both motion sick AND suffer from terrible eye strain. Excuse me, I just got off the bus. *Vomits into bucket* Okay… I'm good… so, chapter!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 2: Building a Better World<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>Enter the Yibirth Macisto:<strong>_

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><p>Chapter 1: Creating your Fantasy<p>

This book has the power to make all your dreams come true. This chapter is devoted to teaching you how to do this, step by step.

Materials needed:

One copy of the "Yibirth Macisto"

Six candles

Chalk

Five sheets of paper

Empty Book

Quill

Glass bowl

Soot from burnt wood

Water

Blood

Knife

Procedure:

1: Draw a large circles with six circles arching out, as shown in Illustration A

2: Place and light six candles at points of arch

3: While the candles are burning, pour water into glass bowl filled with soot. Chant the following incantation as you slice your hand, dripping exactly twelve drops of blood into the mix and stirring counter-clockwise.

{The incantation is made of various symbols that are impossible to read}

4: Using the ink, draw and place the following into the following circles surrounding your main circle:

Map of your fantasy world: North

Noble Creatures: North-West

Monsters: North-East

Holy Weapons: South-West

Dark Weapons: South-East

5: Place the empty book in the southern-most circle, open to the front page. Write your full name in the front page of the book, along with a drawing/description of what you want yourself to look like

6: Open the Yibirth Macisto in the very center circle and chant the incantation in the next chapter

Once you wake up in your fantasy world, open to Chapter 3 and follow the instructions.

Chapter 2: The Opening Incantation

{The next few pages are full of symbols that are impossible to read}

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><p><em><strong>Enter Ned:<strong>_

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><p>I was sitting in my room, alone, as I read this part. All the stuff the book said I needed were all gathered around near me. I had just finished the circles and lit the candles, placing them where they were supposed to go, when I stared at the knife in my hand.<p>

"…do I really have to cut myself?" I asked, looking at the book. The way it stayed open at me, it was as if it were saying "yes, just do it." Closing my eyes, I moved the sharp point of the knife across my hand, crying out as it made a cut along it. Sniffling, I held it over the bowl and counted twelve drops of blood. I pulled my hand away and used some bed sheets to wrap it up.

"Okay… now…" Taking the spoon, I began stirring the mix counter-clockwise, reading out the incantation. It was weird doing it, because… well, the symbols were obviously in some different language, but I could read it as easily as I could English.

Once the stirring and chanting were over, I pulled out the quill, dipped it in the ink, and started to draw out the map of my fantasy world. It didn't take too long, I already made a map of it that I sometimes pretended I was in, so I just traced over that. Putting it on the north end (I used a compass to make sure), I started to work on the rest. In less than ten minutes, all that was left was the empty book. I pulled out an unused composition book for school and opened it to the front page, writing my name on the top and staring at the blank space below for a moment.

"…I wanna be taller," I said to myself, drawing my perfect image. "And my hand's not hurt. And I'm strong! And handsome. My clothes are the best around."

It didn't take me long to make the perfect me. He was… well, perfect! I placed the open book on the southern circle and stood back in the center, holding up the book. As I chanted the incantation, one by one, the candles started going out. Then, the fire was replaced with black flames. The flames spread down the chalk and to the papers and book, which burned without being burned if that makes sense. The smoke built above me in a dome, surrounding me with blackness.

"Hear my plea!" I finished after the incantation. "Create mine fantasy world! The materials have been given, the sacrifice offered! The only thing left is to… open the door!"

Paper exploded from the book and covered me from head to toe. I could feel the ink seeping into my skin, and a moment later, I fell unconscious.

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><p><em><strong>Enter Lucy:<strong>_

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><p>"LUCY! LUCY, WAKE UP!"<p>

"Ahh… five more minutes…" I muttered, covering my head with my pillow.

"Kitty girl, please! Wake up, wake up!"

I could feel three small creatures trying to shake me awake.

"Alright, I'm up… what's going on?" I asked, rubbing my eyes sleepily.

"Look!" Yashy pulled at my arm and pointed at a dome of darkness that was slowly spreading through my room, blocking off the exit.

"Guys, whatever you opened, can't it wait another five minu-HOLY SHIT!" I nearly jumped out of my fur as the situation hit me like a train.

"Lucy, hold on to something!" I noticed then Yashy, Chirpy and Lily were all holding on to either my bed or me.

"That… that THING works like a vacuum!" Lily continued. "It already sucked up-"

She was interrupted by my nightstand slowly moving, then just being flung into the air and sucked right into the dome.

"GET UP, GET UP!" I grabbed all three of them in my arm and jumped off the bed, gripping the wall. Just in time, too: The bed was sucked up into the dome.

"Kitty girl, what are we gonna do?" Chirpy asked in panic.

"…" I turned to the window nearby, thinking fast.

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><p><em><strong>Enter McCain:<strong>_

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><p>I was standing next to the stop sign at the corner, waiting for Sue. Along came Mike, Daisy, Abby, Paulo and Dave, the small group that I was surprised to see all together for once.<p>

"…and then the guy said 'that's no tail! That's my wife!'" Paulo finished, laughing. Dave was the only one who laughed with him, though.

"…what?" Mike asked. "That makes no sense."

"Well… Dave got it!" Paulo said. "Isn't that right, Dave?"

"AHAHAHA! PIXIES TICKLE ME IN MY SLEEP!" Dave laughed. Everyone stared at him for a minute.

"…right, so anyway-" started Paulo.

"**Darkness has spread across the world,**" Dave suddenly said, his eyes rolling back in his head. "**The accursed book has been open, another victim claimed. The dark woods shall lead a girl to the haunted village, where she shall meet one of the two of destiny! She shall follow it to the swamp, where she shall know the destiny of the two-who-are-one, and encounter the Monster! The Monster, oh the Monster! It hunts the one corrupted by the Sword, who seeks the one stolen by the King! One shall guide the Chosen One through the maw of the Dragon, and shall join the one with lost hope in the snowy mountains! All have differences, but they must work together to save what they all love!**"

We were all quiet for a moment.

"…Dave?" Daisy asked. "Are you okay?"

"Never better!" Dave said cheerfully, back to normal.

"…what was the last thing you said?" Paulo asked, concerned.

"That Pixies tickle me in my sleep!" Dave said. "Why? Do you want me to say it again?"

"Uh… no, that's okay…" Paulo said.

"This is probably an omen of things to come…" I muttered. Of course, no one listened to me.

"GUYS! GUYS!" We turned to see Sue run up to us, panting.

"Sue, what's wrong?" I asked as she leaned on the sign, panting.

"It's… it's Lucy!" she panted. "Her house, it's… it's being sucked into some kind of black dome!"

"WHAT?" We all asked. Mike and Paulo were the first to make a dash to her house. We all followed behind, and soon, we were at the house.

Sue wasn't joking around, there was a huge dome of darkness that had swallowed much land already. Fortunately, the window of Lucy's room seemed to be the only part of the house that wasn't touched with darkness. As we ran closer, the glass shattered, and Lucy's bleeding hands were helping her pets out.

"GO!" she shouted. "RUN, AS FAR AWAY FROM HERE AS POSSIBLE!"

"LUCY!" Mike reached the house first, followed by Paulo. They reached their hands in and grabbed Lucy's. They pulled her torso out, but the dome spread and her feet were caught. She screamed as she was slowly pulled back in.

"Pull…!" Mike groaned, resting his feet against the wall.

"I'm pulling as hard as I can!" Paulo replied with a grunt. Soon, however, the dome spread outside her house, and all that was left was Lucy's hands…and Mike and Paulo were being pulled in.

"MIKE!" Daisy ran forward and grabbed Mike around the waist, pulling back.

"DAISY!" Abby ran forward and did the same with Daisy.

"DOG PILE!" laughed Dave, jumping on Paulo.

"DAVE-" started Paulo, but he was interrupted as he fell through the dome along with Dave. Mike grunted as this sudden momentum pulled him in, and soon, Daisy and Abby followed in.

"No!" Sue reached forward, but I grabbed her arms to hold her back.

"It's no use!" I said. "We'll be pulled in too if we try to save them!"

"Well we gotta try!" one of Lucy's pets said, jumping forward. I managed to grab her in my hand before she could jump, though.

"The boy's right," Lily said sadly. "There's nothing we can do right now."

Sue, in return, glared at the dome of darkness.

"What… what ARE you?" she asked.

"We can find out later," I told her. "But right now, we have to put as much distance between us and that as possible."

Sue nodded and picked up the other two pets in her arms, and together, we made a beeline to the school.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: What did the dome do? What's gonna happen to the group? What the heck was with Dave back there? Tune in next time to find out!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Dark Woods

**Author's Note: Alright, time for a new chapter in my fanfic! And for those of you who care enough, yes, my cold has gotten better. Thank you, modern medicine!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 3: Dark Woods<strong>_ (No, it has nothing to do with Legend of Zelda)

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><p><em><strong>Enter Lucy:<strong>_

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><p>"AAAAAAAH!"<p>

"AAAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAAH!"

"WEEEEEEEE!"

The six of us joined hands in a ring, falling down a bottomless pit that was made of pages from a book. Black Ink flew off the pages and formed dark clouds around us as we fell down, further and further.

"DON'T LET GO!" Paulo shouted over the screams and rushing wind of our fall. It was right around then irony kicked in and sent up a strong blast of wind from shaking papers, making me lose grip on Paulo's hand and hold on for dear life to Mike's.

"DAMMIT LUCY, THAT'S THE ONE THING I SAID NOT TO DO!" Paulo shouted. A powerful shake throughout the tunnel of paper shook a hand off my grip on Mike's hand.

"LUCY!" Mike said as my fingers started slipping, and a moment later, I was completely flung from him and fell through the paper walls.

"LUCY!" I heard them all cry as the walls moved around me. I fell, and a moment later, I landed on my face on some grass and leaves.

"Ow… what the…?" I sat up and shook my head, looking around. It was a thick forest, one of those with the leaves so thick I couldn't see any sunlight.

"Guys?" I stood up and looked around, panicking. "Mike! Paulo! Daisy! Abby! Dave, even you would be a comfort right now!"

The only thing that met me was silence.

"Anyone…" I said shakily, curling on the ground as the weight of my loneliness hit like a ton of bricks. "Don't leave me…"

I closed my eyes tight, tears rolling down my face. I had no idea where my friends were, I had no idea where I was, I had no clue if my pets were okay, no idea if my family was okay… basically, I didn't know a lot of things at that moment.

I heard a branch crack in half, making me look up again. A large branch had fallen off a tree a small distance away. Then another branch from another tree broke off, this one closer to me. Then another, still closer. I got the message and sucked up my tears before turning around and running. Whatever the hell was in that tree didn't want to let me go apparently, because branches kept breaking behind me. I passed by a broken boulder with a bunch of rocks around it. I knelt down and picked up a rock, turning to the tree directly after the one who's branch just broke.

"Leave me ALONE!" I screamed, throwing the rock at the leaves. I heard the rock hit something, and a rattling screech. Out from the branches of the tree dropped a long monster, something that looked like a snake on hind legs, and with wings sprouting from its back. It glared up at me and made another one of those freaky rattling screeches, opening it's maw at me.

"…I didn't throw that rock," I meeped, stepping away. "It was… um… a Forest Elf! Yeah, I almost hit a Forest Elf, and it got angry and threw a rock at me, but I ducked and it went over my head and… hit… you. If you turn around, you can chase after it!"

Oh shut up, I panicked.

Not like it worked, anyway. The monster lunged at me, and I had to dive out of the way to avoid it. It stood back up, glaring at me as I struggled to get back to my feet. I got a running start JUST as it bit again. I felt the tip of my tail brush against its body, that's how close it was.

I tried running as fast as I could go, thinking about how Mike could outrun this thing in a heartbeat. In my case, however, it stayed right behind me, and I had to make a sharp turn to keep from getting bit. I looked around, looking for ANYTHING I could use to my advantage. I noticed the tree branches as I ran, and an idea flew into my head.

I quickly turned to the right, making sure there was some distance between me and the monster. It turned to follow me, and I ran around the nearby tree. Of course, it followed exactly. So I turned in the opposite direction with the other tree and jumped over the snake body. The monster tripped over it and I stopped to watch as it tripped and struggled with the tangle.

"Serves you right!" I stuck my tongue out at it and turned to leave. I heard a loud CRASH, and I turned to see the monster had completely broken down the trees and stood back in chasing position.

"AW HELL!" I turned around and started running for my life… again. My lungs started clawing at my chest and begging me to stop after the monster chased me for awhile longer. Ahead I saw the trees clearing, and I hoped I would escape the forest to some kind of town or something.

"HELP!" I shouted as I got closer to the edge of the woods. "I'M BEING CHASED! SOMEONE, ANYONE, HELP MEEEEEEAUGH!"

I skidded to a halt and had to wave my arms to keep myself from falling down the cliff I ran to. The forest had cleared, and there was a HUGE chasm separating where I was standing and the rest of the forest on the other side. Down the Chasm, I saw… water. Lots of it. Working like rapids. Horrible rapids.

Now, for those of you who read the webcomic, you should know that I'm a little wary around water. Okay, I'm downright terrified of it. And for those of you who haven't read the webcomic, what is wrong with you? You're reading a fanfic ABOUT the webcomic for God's sakes!

Well anyway… that's beside the point. The point is that I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or in my situation, a monster and a wet place. I looked between the two, honestly thinking for a minute that getting eaten by the monster would be a better fate. It came closer and closer, flying to get to me faster, and it snapped it's giant mouth at me. I jumped back in reflex, causing me to slip and fall right off the edge of the cliff. The creature hissed at me, but I barely noticed it as I turned in falling and saw the water approaching me faster and faster. I felt myself about to pass out when I saw something jump out of the rapids below.

It was… a WEIRD looking creature. Like a fish crossed with a frog crossed with an old man, I guess. Whatever, I didn't care if it looked like Abraham Lincoln, all I cared about is that it flew out of the rapids and grabbed me in its tentacle-like arms. I finally decided to pass out when the creature decided to turn right around and dive toward the rapids. My vision went black as the surface of the rapids directly under us went oddly smooth…

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><p>When I regained consciousness, the creature was smiling down at me. I was lying down under some trees, but it was a lighter part of the forest.<p>

"Hello, little one," the creature said in a friendly manner. In response, I punched him in the face.

"OW!" the creature jumped back, shaking its head. "What was that for?"

"For one, you were watching me while I was out," I said, sitting up. "For another, YOU GRABBED ME AND DRAGGED ME INTO THE RAPIDS!"

"Oh yes, that…" the creature said. "What's wrong? Are you aqua phobic?"

"I don't have to be aqua phobic to be terrified about BEING DRAGGED INTO RUSHING RAPIDS," I snapped. "On top of all that, I was being dragged by a fish… frog… man… thing!"

"Young lady," the creature said, offended, "I am not a fish frog man thing! I am Gl'Chyroth, the prophet of the Fantasy!"

"…was that the most un-pronounceable name you could think of, or did your parents just hate you?" I asked him.

"Are you always this blunt, or are you just rude?" asked Gl'Chy… forget it, I'm just calling him GC.

"Touché," I answered, crossing my legs. "But… wait a minute, where am I?"

I looked around at the lighter forest. I noticed that it was a clearing in the forest, and we were right next to a small lake. I shifted away from it as soon as I saw it.

"You see…" GC said, walking on its shaky, thin legs. "Everyone here has a special power and weakness. Kind of our thing, really."

"Where IS here?" I asked, impatient to get some answers.

"Patience, I'm getting to that," said GC.

"It's hard to HAVE patience after I've been sucked through a black dome, fell down a tunnel of papers, landed in the middle of a forest, chased by a snake bird thing, and saved by you!"

"Then maybe right now is time to grow some."

I didn't know whether to be infuriated or impressed.

"My power is the ability to warp to any other body of water anywhere in this world," GC said. "I entered the rapids and left from that lake over there."

"Alright, but again: WHERE THE HELL AM I?" I snapped.

"Oh fine, fine," CG rolled his eyes. "You are…"

He paused, looking up at the sky.

"A disturbance… someone must have drawn the sword…" he said to himself.

"…what?" I asked.

"Just… stay here!" he said, heading back to the lake. "Don't leave this clearing!"

With that, he jumped into the lake, which warped around him before foaming and clearing again, leaving nothing behind showing that he was ever there

"…wait right here?" I looked around at the forest around me. "Yeah… thanks but no thanks. I think I'll take my chances with the monsters. Maybe I'll find something that'll give me a straight answer."

I stood up and walked into the forest, going away from the lake.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Guess who's in Disney World? Little bro's turning 12, wish him a happy birthday for me! Welp, that's about it. Until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4: The Dark Sword

**Author's Note: *Eating Gummi Snacks* …what? They're tasty! Well… anyway, here's the chapter!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 4: The Dark Sword<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Daisy:<strong>_

* * *

><p>"LUCY!" we all cried as Lucy fell from Mike's grip and into the wall of paper, vanishing.<p>

"I'M GOING IN AFTER HER!" Paulo said.

"DON'T!" Abby shouted at him. "WHO KNOWS WHERE YOU'LL END UP?"

It was right then that a sheet of paper launched out and sliced Abby's hand. He shouted in pain and pulled his hand back, his hand dangerously close to coming out of mine. I couldn't stand being separated from him, so I wrapped both arms around him, making us both launch toward the wall of paper. I heard half of our friends' shouting, but then the paper moved around us and created some grass under us, which I landed with a soft thump on.

"Ow… well…" I said, shaking my head and looking around. "At least the landing was pretty soft, right?"

"I'm glad you thought so…"

I looked down to see Abby wincing in pain under me.

"Oh no!" I said, jumping off him and helping him back to his feet. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"I…" Abby looked at me and smiled. "Yeah. I'm alright, so long as you are."

I couldn't help but giggle at this.

"Though I gotta ask, where ARE we?" asked Abby, looking around. We were in a really big plain, hills and grass for as far as the eye could see.

"Looks like New Zealand," I noted.

"Well we better find someone," said Abby, taking my hand and leading me across the grassy plain. As we walked, we didn't notice high in the sky, a flying eye was focused down on us.

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><p><em><strong>Enter Ned:<strong>_

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><p>I was sitting in my throne room, watching all this happen in a crystal ball connected to the flying eye.<p>

"Do you think the others are okay?" the pretty one asked.

"Well, I bet they all fell in different places just like us," the guy said.

"Wow… she is REALLY pretty," I said, making the eye zoom in on the pretty one. "I wish she could be my queen. Then this kingdom would be perfect!"

The Yibirth Macisto shook in my lap. I looked down and opened it. A few days ago, I learned that the book did this whenever it wanted to give me a message. So, I opened it up to watch the words be written on the page.

"_If she is so perfect," _the book wrote, _"why not take her as your queen?"_

"Oh I don't know… can I?" I asked.

"_You're a king, a God in fact!"_ the book encouraged. _"All you need is a mount to bring her here, and… this."_

The pages in the book turned on its own and landed on a tiara with notes pointing to it.

"A brainwashing tiara?" I asked. "Well… are you sure this is the best way to do this?"

"_Would I ever steer you wrong?"_ the book replied.

"Well… alright, I guess you're right," I said, opening my notebook and starting to draw. "Soon, I'll have my own queen… this is gonna be so cool!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Abby:<strong>_

* * *

><p>"That's an odd cave," Daisy said, pointing at a cave that was simply an opening that went straight down underground. It was completely out of place, too, because while the rest is grassy, that one spot was spotted with dead grass and the cave looked bleached.<p>

"I vote we stay AWAY from that cave," I said. "It doesn't look like anything could stay alive in it."

"I think you're right," Daisy said, turning around. "…what is THAT?"

I turned to where she was pointing to see what looked like something being drawn in the middle of the air.

"I have no idea…" I said, watching what looked like a cage with wings and arms being drawn. Once it was finished, the air around it rippled, and it spawned into a living, breathing creature.

"Holy…" I took a step back.

"Wait!" Daisy said. "Maybe if we don't move, it won't notice us?"

Immediately after she said that, the creature swooped down and grabbed her in its hands.

"DAISY!" I ran toward the creature as it flew backwards, opening the cage and throwing Daisy in.

"ABBY!" she stood up and shook on the bars of the cage. "LET ME GO!"

The creature was going only horizontally, so I managed to get closer to it as I chased after it up a hill. At the top, I jumped and just barely managed to get my fingers on the cage.

"ABBY!" Daisy held out a hand, and I took it and used it to pull myself up to the outside of the cage, holding onto the bars.

"Maybe I can find a way to pry this open…" I said. Suddenly, the creature started shaking, knocking Daisy all around the cage and having me hang on for dear life by my hands.

"NO, DAISY!" I grabbed as hard as I could and tried to pull myself up, but with an expert flick, the creature flicked me off, making me roll and land in a heap on the ground.

"ABBY!" Daisy called out as she was carried off. I looked up and cursed, hitting my fist against the ground.

"I wasn't strong enough!" I said. "I couldn't save her, and now she's gone to who-knows-where…"

I lifted my head and turned to see the cave. I had no idea where it went, but… well, it was my only choice left. Standing up, I walked into the cave. It went down in a slope, leading down for what felt like miles. It eventually evened out and opened up to a huge open area underground. In the center of the chamber was a glowing red sword that let off an aura of power.

"…" I walked forward and looked at the sword. If anything could help me get Daisy back, this would be it. Not like I had any other choice, I grabbed the hilt and pulled it out of the ground. There was a powerful vibration, and what felt like a current going through my body, but I had it. I had the sword in my hand. I gave it an experimental swing. It felt perfect, the right balance in my hand.

"Alright…" I said, turning around. Suddenly, there was a loud shaking, and from the walls came skeletons.

"**FOOLISH MORTAL WHO DARE TAKE THE SWORD, THOU SHALT BE BURIED UNDER THE DAMNED SOULS OF THOSE WHO HATH TOUCHED THE BLADE!" **a dark voice said as the skeletons ran at me.

In retrospect, that probably should have been my first clue.

My second came when I started swiping the sword through them. The more I attacked, the angrier I got, until I was just fury with a blade. I ran through, slicing through many skeletons at once. I jumped into the air and stabbed downwards, letting off a shockwave of negative energy that made a whole mess of skeletons collapse at once. Finally, I stood up and pointed my sword into the air, sending off a red orb that shot out bolts of lightning that destroyed every single one.

"…power," I said, blinking at the sword in my hand. "Look at all this POWER. Now I can destroy the monster that kidnapped Daisy!"

The violent thoughts that went through my mind should have been my second clue as I ran out of the cave after the monster. I had no idea what that horrible blade was doing to me as I ran…

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Foreshadowing! Sorry for it being short, pulled this out in the last minute. Until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5: The Lake

**Author's Note: Invader Zim is funny, but as I re-watch it on Netflix, I realize why they canceled it. It is WAY dark. Welp, here's some Mike action!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 5: The Lake<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Mike:<strong>_

* * *

><p>We all shouted after Daisy and Abby as they fell through the paper walls and vanished.<p>

"…I BET THAT'S A LOT OF FUN!" David said, grabbing Paulo around the back. "LET'S GO!"

"DAVID, DAVID, LET GO LET GO LET GOOOOOOOOOOOAH!" Paulo shouted, tugged out of my grip and launched in the opposite direction as me. I saw him all the way until the paper around me turned transparent, and the next thing I knew, I was underwater. My first instinct was to scream, but that just emptied my lungs. I turned in the direction I was pretty sure was up and swam as hard as I possibly could. My head finally broke the surface of the water and I gasped for the precious air. After wiping the water out of my eyes, I looked around to see I was in the middle of a huge lake.

"What…" I looked around for any sign of life. "Hey! Anyone!"

My own echo was the only reply. I sighed before paddling to shore. I felt my heart sink as my iPhone pressed against my pocket, reminding me how it wasn't waterproof.

_There goes my chances of contacting anyone,_ I thought. As I got closer to the shore, I noticed a movement under the lake. I turned my head to see, but there was nothing. I stared at that spot for a moment, then just turned back forward to swim…

…and bursting from the lake was a HUGE tentacle.

"AH!" I flailed in the waiter, trying to swim back. The tentacle grabbed me around my torso and dragged me back underwater. I struggled and twisted, soon finding myself face-to-face with a giant squid. Yes, a giant squid. As in, the kinds you would see in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In a lake. Yeah.

I probably would have made a comment about this if it weren't for the fact this thing was trying to drown me. I struggled against it, hitting it, kicking it, wanting to get to the surface. I looked up just in time to see the surface ripple and something jump out, then fall back in. It was… a weird thing that looked like a cross between a fish and an old man. It blinked at me, seeing my situation. I held out a hand to him, begging for help. A determined look crossed his face as he swam toward me, leaning it's head forward and turning it's dorsal fin into a razor sharp blade. It slashed right through the tentacle, freeing me from the grip and spilling blood all throughout the lake. I swam directly up as the new creature battled the squid. I gasped for air, but I didn't waste a moment as I swam as hard as I could for shore.

* * *

><p>It is here that I would usually put something like "Enter whoever" but in this case, GC never actually wrote anything for this book. We tried, but it ended up looking like this:<p>

so then i jumpd in the air an did something

Smart guy, but can't spell to save his life. HOWEVER, this action scene makes up most of this chapter because I'm a lazy bastard, so for this part, it's going to be a third person perspective! Huzzah! Also, I apologize for breaking the flow like this, but… yeah.

* * *

><p>As Mike swam to the surface, the squid reached a tentacle out for GC. He, in turn, swam out of its grip and went around to the head of the colossal creature. It, in turn, spun through the water and pointed its underbelly at GC, showing off the mouth covered in razor sharp teeth. GC quickly came to a stop and swam in the opposite direction, but the squid chased after him, and it was quite fast for its size. GC swam down toward the bottom of the lake, the squid following and getting closer with every paddle.<p>

The bottom of the lake was scattered with plenty of rocks and vegetation. GC swam straight into a tall patch of said vegetation, the squid following right behind it. GC made a sprint and came out at the end, hiding behind a rock. The squid came out and looked around, not being able to find GC. It looked around, poking the ground and hunting for him. As he did this, GC quietly swam behind him and used his legs to grab a large rock. He strained with it, using every ounce of his strength, but he eventually managed to lift it. He spun through the water, building up momentum before tossing the large rock at the squid. He managed to aim it just right and lodge the boulder in the mouth of the squid. This caught it off guard and made it crash into the sandy ground.

GC took this momentary distraction to his advantage and build up a quick spin, sharpening his dorsal fin before launching at the squid in a very Sonic-like spin-dash and slicing straight through several of its tentacles, cutting off a chunk of the squid in the process. Blood began pooling around in the lake as the squid teetered around, the mass loss of blood getting to it. It turned to GC and made a final lunge, but GC easily dodged and grabbed on with his legs. Exhorting the last of its strength, the squid flailed around, trying to knock GC into the floor and rocks. GC held on all through, his grip on the squid never faltering. Eventually, he managed to dig a leg straight into its head, delivering a fatal blow. It staggered through the ocean before eventually going limp, slowly floating toward the surface. GC removed itself from the now-corpse and swam in the direction of Mike.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Mike:<strong>_

* * *

><p>I was wringing out my scarf by the time the fish creature poked his head out of the water, swimming toward me.<p>

"I'm so sorry," he said when he got close enough to speak with me. "Are you alright, young man?"

"Well I'm alive," I answered. "But… where am I?"

"Ah," the creature said, stepping out of the water and standing on his thin and wobbly legs. "Another one of your kind asked me that not ten minutes ago. Didn't have time to answer, of course, because… oh no!"

"Another one of my kind?" I asked. "Who? You mean Abby? Daisy? Lucy?"

"No time, no time!" the creature said, starting in a run toward the south. "I must stop him before he is corrupted further! The fate of the world could depend on it!"

"Wait!" I called after him. "Stop who?"

He didn't answer me as he continued to run and eventually went out of sight.

"…" I took a good look at my surroundings. The lake split off into a river that ran from the north and one that continued south. The one heading north led to snowy mountains, and the creature ran to the south. On one hand, if I go south, I'm more likely to run into someone that can tell me what the hell is going on. On the other hand, I didn't really like what he said about someone being corrupted…

"…I'll flip a coin," I decided, pulling a quarter out of my pocket. "Heads, mountains. Tails, South."

I flipped, caught, and smacked the coin against my arm. When I lifted my hand, I saw it facing…

"Heads," I said. "Well… alright. Mountains I go."

Wrapping my scarf around my neck, I walked alongside the river, heading north toward the mountains.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I know these chapters are short, but they're all setup. Anyway, woo, staying up to write things for the win! Well, happy Labor Day to everyone and… wait… Labor Day? As in, the day everyone takes a day off from work? So I totally could have just not written anything and that would have been protected by the law? …well I wish I had known that a little earlier, huh? Just kidding, of course. I'll see you all Wednesday!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6: Natives

**Author's Note: And now, the comic relief portion of the book. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 6: Natives<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Dave:<strong>_

* * *

><p>Weee! Spin! Natives! Paulo YELL! Volcano! Fire, hot hot! Hoooooooot, super hot! Jumpy jumpy-<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Er… on second thought, Enter Paulo:<strong>_

* * *

><p>After Dave tore me and Mike away, we fell through the wall of paper, and it transformed around us into soot-covered ground.<p>

"Let's go again!" laughed Dave as I sat up, coughing.

"No Dave," I said, standing up. "…where are we?"

"Well you're right there, and I'm right here, so…" started Dave. I ignored him as I looked over the place. It was a large flat area with a bunch of rocks. I could see the ocean starting a bit away, the ground was black with soot, and a huge volcano was sitting on the horizon.

"Alright… so where the hell ARE we?" I asked.

"Well let's see…" David said. "I'm standing here, and you're there, so…"

"Dave…" I started, but I heard a bunch of footsteps from nearby.

"What was that?" I asked, turning.

"Goblins pounding on their roof?" suggested Dave. I ignored him and looked out to see a group of creatures coming toward us.

You know the game "From Dust"? You know those creatures that run around in it, the ones with masks? Well that's what these native that were coming toward us looked like.

"Hey look!" Dave pointed to the natives as they slowed to a stop in front of us. "It's people! Hi, people!"

"Dave!" I grabbed his arm and shushed him. "Listen… these people aren't used to the same things we are."

"I'll say!" Dave said a little too loudly. "They're wearing cloth instead of pants! Oh! I know where we are! The land of no pants!"

"Dave!" I put my hand over his mouth. "Now listen… just let me do the talking, just once, okay? I talk, and you… you play the quiet game."

"Okie dokie!" Dave said, making the motion of zipping his mouth shut.

"That's better," I nodded, then turned to the natives. "Hello there! We come in peace, ugly creatures!"

"…" the natives looked between themselves.

* * *

><p>"Wow Paulo!" Dave said as we were tied up and carried off, tied up on poles. "You're a really good talker!"<p>

"SHUT UP!" I snapped, glaring up at the sky. They carried us for a good while until we reached a village at the foot of the volcano.

"Wow, I bet they don't have to wear jackets!" Dave said cheerfully as the poles we were tied to were pegged into the ground.

"Wait, WHY live at the base of a volcano?" I asked as the natives left to gather things. "What if the volcano goes off? The lava will burn you all, won't it?"

An old Native in a really big mask walked up to us, leaning on a cane.

"You. Strange Creatures," he said, pointing at us. "Come from sky. Sky God want Lava?"

"What… Sky God?" I asked. "Listen, I don't know what's going on, but there was a big black dome, me and my friends were sucked in, and we fell right here."

"Black Dome?" All of the natives gasped, staring at us like we just turned into witches or something.

"Look, I don't get it any more than you do," I said, looking between them all. "I just want to find Lucy and get out of here! Oh, and Daisy, of course. Mike, too… and Abby, I guess."

"Black God send to destroy world!" the Elder said, pointing at us. "Just as prophesy says!"

"…prophesy?" I blinked.

"Ooh, it's just like a video game!" Dave said. "Who's the bad guy?"

"You!" the Elder pointed at Dave.

"…yay!" Dave cheered. "Is Paulo the Good Guy? It's just like Cops Vs. Robbers!"

"I thought we agreed not to speak of that!" I snapped.

"To please Lava God," elder said as a few natives drew a large circle with chalk, "we send monster to fight you! Sacrifice! Sacrifice!"

"Sacrifice!" the other Natives said as we were untied and shoved into the circle. "Sacrifice!"

"Sacrifice!" Dave chanted along with them. "Sacrifice!"

"Dave!" I shouted. "Shut! Up!"

A wall of light rose from the chalk, seeming to create a barrier that trapped us inside. How do I know, you ask?

"Pretty light!" laughed Dave, running right into it, slamming his face against it, and falling back.

That's how.

Anyway, the natives held out their arms and began chanting in a language I didn't understand at all. Their hands glowed, and suddenly, the ground at the center of the circle started to turn red and bubble. I backed away, my eyes wide as the bubbly red stuff in the center rose out of the ground and slowly took the shape of a hunched beetle-like creature. It shook off the excess muck, revealing itself to look exactly like a beetle, only with a red shell and lava coming out of it. It slowly turned its head and zeroed in on me.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!" I turned and ran in the opposite direction, only to slam right into the force field and land on my ass.

"OW!" I rubbed my nose and turned to see the lava beetle was getting closer. I thought fast and rolled out of the way as it charged. I looked up triumphantly to see it smash into the wall, only to have my heart sink when it went right through the force field.

"Oh COME ON!" I shouted, throwing my arms in the air. "That's just not fair!"

The Beetle turned and ran at me, phasing through the wall. I got up and ran the other way, this time turning to the right and running beside the wall. The beetle followed me, and it took a few laps for it to realize it was running in circles and skidded to a halt, cutting me off by running to the other side. I slid down under it, nearly singeing off my fur as I did so. Once I was on the other side, I rolled back to my feet and ran again.

"I love this show!" Dave clapped, watching me and the bug run around.

"DAVE I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP-" I started, glaring at him. I didn't notice as the beetle rolled in front of me and grabbed me in its pinchers. I gasped, the heat and pressure knocking out all the wind from me. It lifted me from the ground, preparing to… I don't know, blast fire at me? That's what it looked like, anyway. As it was doing it, a piece of its armor popped off from the heat, instantly cooling as it hit the ground. Dave saw this and picked it up, walking to us.

"Hello?" he said. "Pizza Delivery for… I. C. Weiner? Aw Crud…"

If I wasn't choking on heat, I would have screamed at him. Good thing I didn't, because the natives all gasped and looked between each other.

"STOP!" the elder said, clapping his hands. The beetle turned back into dirt and the force field faded. Dave was still holding the piece of the armor that fell off, which I would have found odd if I wasn't concerned about being dropped from the air and landing with a thump on the ground.

"Ow, my back…" I said, sitting up.

"Do you want me to rub it?" Dave asked. "I'm a good rubber!"

"…" I wasn't in the mood to make a joke about that.

"Great being…" the elder said, bowing to us. "We had no idea…"

"Well!" I stood up, dusting myself off. "That's more like it! It's about time you recognize-"

"Not YOU!" the elder shoved me out of the way. "Him!"

He and every other native pointed to Dave.

"You who know I. C. Weiner, great Angel under Lava God!" the elder continued.

"…you know, it's rude to point!" Dave said. All the natives gasped and winced away.

"Forgive us, Messiah!" someone said. I looked to Dave and smirked, an idea forming.

"Follow my lead," I whispered to Dave, then to the Natives: "The Messiah has appointed me to be the grand decision maker! We shall forgive you for your insubordination if you prove yourself worthy enough!"

"Whatever you wish, we give!" the elder said, still bowed.

"Ya got any grub?" I asked.

"Grub?" blinked the Elder.

"Food, man!" I said. "The Messiah cannot create miracles on an empty stomach!"

"Get them food!" said the elder, every native leaving to gather food. "Best food we have!"

"Dave, buddy," I said, wrapping an arm around my best friend, "we gotta find our buds, but for now, we live like Gods!"

"Yay!" Dave said, but I knew he had no idea what I was talking about. I didn't care though, I was gonna milk this situation for as much as I could.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Betting booth's up, who thinks this is gonna backfire soon? How long? I accept all forms of currency! Anyway, until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7: The School, Hour 0

**Author's Note: I played Minecraft 1.8 instead of writing this chapter, so instead of getting a chapter about what's going on outside of the world they're in, you get to see a monkey doing the chicken dance!**

* * *

><p>A monkey did the chicken dance.<p>

* * *

><p>…<strong>yeah, that's better when done visually. Well you guys will probably hunt me down and beat me up if I don't write this chapter… actually, I think this is the only story I could not update and no one would really care all that much. Huh. Well I'm tryin' anyway. Here's the chapter!<strong>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 7: The School, Hour 0<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter McCain:<strong>_

* * *

><p>Sue and I burst into the classroom. A few students were there, but the teacher was apparently running late.<p>

"What took you so long?" a girl in class asked.

"Giant… dome… sucked… friends…" Sue panted.

"…what?"another kid asked in disbelief.

"There's a huge freakin' dome that sucked everyone in!" Yashi shouted, jumping on a desk and waving her arms. "It's spreading, and if ya don't hurry you'll be sucked in, too!"

"Right…" Katie, the popular girl, rolled her eyes. "And what if we don't believe this BS?"

In answer to this, I picked up a remote and turned on the TV.

"A giant black dome is coming through town, absorbing everything around it!" a news man said. I turned the channel.

"-streets are backed up as people flee the scene!" I changed the channel.

"THE END IS NEAR! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

I turned off the TV.

"That proof enough for you?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"…it could be an April Fool's Joke," Katie said stubbornly, crossing her arms. It was then the teacher burst into the room.

"Class dismissed, I'm off to evacuate town before that dome reaches here!" he said before slamming the door.

"…WE'RE ALL DOOMED!" Everyone in the class started to panic, running around and flailing.

"Guys…" I held out my hands, but no one was listening to me. Big surprise.

"HEY!" Sue shouted, catching everyone's attention.

"Listen!" she barked in the same voice she used to direct the play. "We know there's a dome coming this way, and we know that it's sucking things in. But panicking won't make that dome spread any slower! We need to get organized and get prepared!"

"Who died and made you queen?" Katie asked.

Sue glared down at her in such a harsh way I could practically see the color drain from Katie's fur.

"…you can be the boss," Katie whimpered.

"Alright." Sue clapped her hands together. "We'll need someone to go to the dome and see how quickly it's spreading, then we can plan based on that."

"I'll go," I offered.

"Love your enthusiasm McCain," Sue said, "but you can't go alone. Someone's gonna have to go with you."

"Carter will go." The creepy cat was now standing next to us. "Carter loves Lucy."

"But Lucy isn't-" I started.

"Carter. Loves. Lucy." Carter leaned in so close our faces were only an inch apart.

"…well it's better than going in alone," Sue reasoned. I sighed.

"Come on Carter," I said, walking out of the room. Carter followed behind, floating above the ground.

* * *

><p>The black dome spread slowly across the streets. The suction created a strong wind, breaking windows of all the houses it passed. Car alarms went off as cars were sucked into it. Telephone poles were ripped out of the ground and sucked right in. Carter and I were standing on a hill, watching the dome spread outward toward us.<p>

"Oh this is bad…" I muttered, rubbing my chin. "At the rate this dome is going… it should be at the school in an hour or two."

"Carter loves Lucy," Carter said. "Is Lucy in dome?"

"…" I didn't honestly know how to answer that. "Er… well…"

"Carter LOVES Lucy!" Carter picked up a car over his head and threw it into the dome.

"Carter!" I grabbed him by the arms, dragging him back. "Come on, let's get out of here…"

Suddenly, the dome started shaking. It flattened out into a wall, and shot out, spreading and surrounding the town.

"That… can't be a good sign," I said.

"There's a way out," Carter said. "Lucy's waiting in that way out. Did I mention Carter loves Lucy?"

* * *

><p>"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NO WAY OUT?" Sue screamed.<p>

"Just that," I replied. "The dome spread out into a wall that surrounded the whole town. There's no way in or out now."

"So we're trapped like rats," Sue summarized.

"Pretty much? Yeah." I nodded.

"Dammit!" Sue cursed. "Well there's no way to evacuate everyone now…"

"I say we keep it a secret for now," I suggested. "If everyone knows we're trapped, we'll have a full-out panic riot on our hands."

"Good idea," Sue agreed. "…hey, where's Carter?"

"Attention students," Carter's voice said over the intercom. "This is Carter. Carter loves Lucy. Also, we're all trapped by the dome and probably going to die. Make peace with your God while I make love with Lucy."

"…make love with Lucy?" I asked. "Could he have worded that worse?"

"I don't think he misspoke…" Sue said. After we got over that, we realized exactly what he just said.

"WAIT, WHAT?" we shouted as we heard the panicked screams of everyone in the school.

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" a kid crashed through a window and ran around outside in panic.

"I am going to KILL him…" muttered Sue, marching to the front office. However, by the time we got there…

"Attention, fellow classmates!" Tess said into the microphone. "SHUT UP!"

A quiet fell over the whole school.

"Warmed them up for you," she said, tossing Sue the microphone.

"Where's Carter?" I asked.

"Broom closet," Tess pointed.

"Remind me to thank you later," Sue said, putting the microphone to her mouth and pushing the button. "This is Sue. I know we're in a bit of a situation right now, but the last thing we have to do is panic! We are a team! We area a High School! Do we let things like this stop us? No! We're stronger than that! When we work together, we can do anything we set our minds to! Why panic over this when we can DO something about it? We'll tunnel underground! We'll build an airplane and fly over!"

"Pushing it there," I noted.

"Shut UP McCain!" Sue hissed, putting her hand over the microphone before continuing. "My point is that we can beat this wall! It's just some stupid darkness, so why don't we join together and shine a bright light on it? Together, we can do it! Who's with me?"

Cheering came from throughout the school.

"Meet me in the Auditorium in fifteen minutes!" Sue said. "I shall create a plan of action for us all!"

With that, she took her finger off the button and set the microphone down.

"How was I?" Sue said braggingly, leaning against the table.

"Good enough to stir the crowd," I said. "So what's your plan of action?"

"…I have fifteen minutes to think one up!" Sue said, pulling up a sheet of paper and looking down at it. "Help me out here, guys!"

"I'll go regulate the crowd," Tess said, leaving me alone with Sue.

"Well? C'mon McCain!" said she. Sighing, I knelt down next to her and picked up a pencil.

"Alright," Sue said. "I think the first thing we should do is…"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: So they're doin' stuff on the outside, too? Well, next chapter will bring Ned and Daisy, then we're back to Lucy! Until then, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8: The New Queen

**Author's Note: Okay… truth be told, my whole Tutoring business really isn't doing so hot. I know, I'm surprised, too. I would think that a lot of people would be wanting help with tutoring, but nope. Not a one. Hm… I wonder if there are any jobs involving writing stuff on a weekly basis. I mean, I basically do it every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for you guys, right? Why not do the same thing, only make money off it? Ah… but I digress. Here's the-WAIT! The Escapist! Maybe I can get a job there writing articles! Well… we'll see. Until then, here's the chapter!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 8: The New Queen<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Ned:<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Alright!" I said, solving a Rubix Cube for probably the hundredth time that day.<p>

"Excuse me… sir?" My wolf for a soldier asked me. "May I ask why you've spent most of the time solving that… colored cube thing?"

"I'm waiting for my cage creature to bring back my Queen!" I replied. "Plus, do you have ANY idea how satisfying it is to solve one of these?"

"…very?" the soldier guessed. I sat up in my throne and scrambled the cube again.

"Your majesty!" another soldier ran in, catching my attention. "Your Queen has arrived!"

"Oh, that's great!" I tossed the cube to the soldier talking to me earlier. "Here ya go, try to solve it."

I grabbed the Yibirth Macisto and my notebook before following the soldier out. We walked through the hallways of the castle, which the soldier had to stop and wait for me multiple times in because I kept slowing down and stopping to look at things. I mean… yeah, I built it, but until now, it only existed in my imagination. It felt so… surreal to draw a whole floor plan of a castle on graph paper and suddenly walk through the actual thing.

Well anyway, we eventually reached the balcony. My future queen was waiting inside the cage creature. I blushed when I saw her-she was even more beautiful in person! Still, I managed to take a breath and shake my nervousness off. I was a king, I shouldn't be scared of anything!

"How do I look?" I asked the soldier.

"Uh… you look excellent, my lord," replied the soldier, blinking.

"Thanks!" I said, taking big strides over to the cage. "Hello there!"

"You!" she seemed REALLY mad, as she was shaking the bars of the creature. "Let me out of here!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I tapped the creature near where the lock would usually be on a cage, and the door opened up. Blinking, the cute girl stepped out.

"…wow, it was really that easy?" she asked.

"Of course!" I nodded. "I wouldn't want to keep you cramped up in there!"

"But… aren't you kidnapping me?" she asked.

"Kidnapping?" I blinked. "No! Why would I ever do that? I just saw you walking around the field and I wanted you to come here! There are a lot of monsters in that area, so I sent a cage creature to keep you safe!"

"Oh…" she said. "Well… that's nice of you and all, but-"

"My name's Ned!" I held out a hand.

"Hi, I'm Daisy," she replied, shaking it.

"…really?" I couldn't help but snicker a bit. Daisy sighed.

"Go ahead, you can laugh," she said, sounding exasperated. "Everyone does."

"Nono… it's… it's fine…" I controlled my breathing. "Just… you don't have any yellow dresses, right?"

"With my name? Nope."

"Okay… I'm good then…"

"So Ned…" Daisy looked around. "This is a really nice place."

"Thanks!" I said, proud. "Come on, I'll give you the grand tour!"

"That's not really nessisary, thanks…" Daisy said.

"Nonsense! I insist!" I took her by the hand and dragged her along, my soldier following close behind.

"Alright… hey Ned?" asked Daisy.

"Hm?" I asked.

"Could you tell me where we are? Exactly?" she asked.

"We're in a castle!" I said. "And this is my throne room!"

"…wow, it's really long," she said, looking it from end to end.

"I know!" I puffed out my chest and put my fists on my hips. "A glorious Throne Room for a glorious King!"

"Right… um, how did you become the King, anyway?" she asked. "You just seem a little… young."

"Well I made everything, so why wouldn't I be king?" I shrugged. "Come on, let's go to the top and look down on the city!"

"Wait. Wait." Daisy froze in her steps.

"What's wrong?" I asked, turning to her.

"You… MADE all this?" she asked.

"Of course!" I nodded.

"…how?" She seemed really confused.

"Oh, this!" I showed her the Yibirth Macisto. "It gave me some instructions to follow, and all I had to do was draw my world and castle. And… well, here it is!"

"You… drew all this?" Daisy reached a hand out to grab the book. I pulled it away before she could.

"Sorry, it said it's for my eyes only," I said.

"So you're the one who-the book talked to you?" Daisy did a double take.

"No silly!" I said. "It writes itself messages to me!"

"…what."

"Well… it has the power to create a whole world," I said. "It's, like, magic. It can write messages to me magically."

"A whole WORLD?" Daisy asked.

"Yup!" I nodded, taking her hand again. "Come on, I'll show you!"

Daisy was silent up the stairs to the top of the castle, but she couldn't help a surprised gasp when we reached the top.

Surrounding the castle was the large capital city. The buildings and roads could be seen, the people walking and talking and trading goods the size of ants. Outside of the castle was a large, spread out plain that went on for miles and miles. A Volcano to the south, mountains to the north, forest to the west… I tried to go all out on it, and even though I was the one who made all it, even I found it a little breathtaking.

"…wow," Daisy said, leaning on the bar. "It's like something I'd read about in a fantasy novel…"

"So you like it?" I looked up at her with big eyes. She was silent for a minute before bending down to my eye level.

"Ned, I want you to tell me something…" she said. "Are you the one who made that big black dome back in the real world?"

"Well… wait, what black dome?" I was really confused. Before Daisy could answer, the Yibirth Macisto shook in my hands.

"Could you give me a minute?" I asked, turning and opening the book to see it writing.

"_Don't you think it's time to make her your Queen?_" it suggested.

"But what about that dome thing?" I asked it. "You never told me anything about a dome."

"_The dome is unimportant,_" the book wrote.

"I think it sounds pretty important!" I argued.

"_We really don't have the time to argue,_" the book told me. "_Don't you want her as your Queen?_"

"Well… yeah, I do…" I admitted.

"_Then offer it to her,_" the book said. "_Put the Tiara on her._"

"…what if she doesn't want to?" I whispered.

"_Convince her to wear the tiara,_" the book said. "_Trust me. Would I ever lie to you?_"

"…no," I said. "Alright. Thanks."

I closed the book and turned to Daisy, looking at me in a confused manner.

"I was just talking to the book," I told her.

"That's the magic book that knows what you're saying, right?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah, why?" I blinked.

"…just curious," Daisy said.

"So… um…" I thought about how to ask it. "Daisy… I think you're really cool, and… well… do you wanna be my Queen? I mean, you'd have a lot of power and wealth around here, and my people need a Queen to look up to…"

"Oh…" Daisy blinked, then blushed a little bit. "That's… well, I'll admit it's flattering. Really. But…"

"But you don't want to…" I sighed, feeling rejected.

"No, it's not that!" Daisy put a hand on my shoulder. "Really, I'm honored! You're a nice kid Ned, it's just… well, I kind of already have a Boyfriend. I don't think he'd like it if I became another guy's Queen."

"Nono, I understand," Ned said. "…but before you go, can I ask you to try on this Tiara?"

I pulled out and offered the book's Tiara to her.

"Well… okay, I guess just trying it on wouldn't hurt," Daisy said, taking the Tiara from me and putting it on her head. "Wow, it fits perfectly!"

A few moments passed, and I was afraid the tiara didn't do anything.

"Daisy?" I asked.

"Yes my King?" Daisy asked. My heart skipped a beat.

"S-so you've accepted my offer?" I asked, eyes wide.

"Of course!" Daisy giggled. "I'd love to be your Queen!"

"YIPPIE!" I jumped in the air, then took her hand and dragged her down the stairs. "Come on, we've gotta make you a throne!"

I forgot the book on the castle top. I didn't notice it, but on its page, it was watching another girl walk through a forest…

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><p><strong>Author's Note: And next chapter, we check back in on Lucy again! Until then, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9: Ghost Town

**Author's Note: Und now, we are back with Lucy… in the sky with diamonds I'M SORRY I COULDN'T RESIST. Welp, here we go!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 9: Ghost Town<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>Enter Lucy:<strong>_

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><p>"Ow…" I leaned against a tree, pulling out stuff stuck in my foot. "I think I prefer the sidewalk to this."<p>

I had walked for at least an hour since that crazy GC jumped into a lake and vanished, and fortunately, I hadn't run into a single monster yet. I was really hoping to keep it that way until I found a way out of the forest and back home.

"Unless," I said to myself as I continued to walk, "of course, this is all just a crazy dream caused by stress."

I painfully stepped on another sharp branch.

"Alright, so it's not a dream," I said, wincing as I pulled the branch out and threw it behind my back. "So that means there was a real black dome that really sucked me and everyone else in."

This led me to believe that either two things were happening. One; Some dark force was working its way to the apocalypse and we were the first victims to be pulled into some sort of weird world full of monsters, or Two; The world was going bat-shit crazy.

Currently, I was leaning towards Two.

My hopes were raised when I saw a break in the trees up ahead, a light that actually shone through and wasn't tinted green by the leaves above. I ran to the opening, only to find myself…

…in an old, abandoned town.

It seemed like an old town, with lamps that were used to light the street at night. Carriages that were supposed to be drawn by horses sat abandoned in the street, the houses were all made of wood that were starting to rot due to years of sitting alone, exposed to the elements without anyone taking care of it… it felt like a town where everyone simultaneously decided that the best thing to do was vanish and make the town a perfect spot for a horror movie.

To their credit, if that was their goal, then Mission Fucking Accomplished.

"God…" I walked through the streets of the town quietly, looking around for any sign of life. There was none. Well, except the trees around where I entered the village from, but that doesn't count.

"Hello?" I called out. "Anyone here?"

"Here… here…" The echo of my own voice was the only reply. With a sigh, I walked forward silently, looking for any way out of the village.

Either that village was enchanted or it was a lot bigger than it looked, because after walking for fifteen minutes, there still was no sign of an exit. Every house looked the same, every street forked four ways, the lamps sat with the signs of no life passing through it for years…

Truth be told, I was starting to get a little unsettled. That said, it's perfectly understandable that I nearly jumped out of my fur when I heard a strange noise come from a large house to my right. Shaking a little bit, I took a step away from the house, watching it.

"…okay," I said, taking a breath, "on one hand, it's never a good idea to investigate sounds in a creepy abandoned town. On the other hand, this is the only sign of life I've found so far, and frankly, I think I'd rather be in the company of a monster than stay alone in this creep town."

I looked around for any kind of weapon I could take with me into the house. Seeing a chunk of wood, I picked it up and carried it in my hands as I carefully walked towards the house. I gently pushed on the door to find it was easy to open. I stepped into the house, the halls that kind of dark that comes from the only illumination being the dirty windows that let in only a little bit of light. With a gulp, I slowly walked down the hall, my footsteps making the floor creak beneath me.

Suddenly, a crashing sound from behind a door made me jump. I whirled around, holding my wooden weapon in front of me in self defense. The door stood there, as if daring me to open it and get my face eaten by what was on the other side.

"But then again," I muttered to myself, "it could be someone who could help me out here…"

I gulped, holding the wood in my right hand and reaching out slowly with my left hand. I gripped the doorknob, slowly turned it, and gently opened it. I peeked my head in to see…

…a REALLY small creature.

It was about the size of a Lego, so I almost looked over it. It was hiding under a desk, quivering in fear.

"Hey…" I said, opening the door wider and stepping in. "Who are you? What's wrong?"

The tiny creature stared up at me, wide eyed.

"You don't have to be afraid…" I stepped forward, bending down.

"GRAUGH!"

I spun around and screamed as a huge… SOMETHING jumped at me. I didn't get a good look at it, as I was too busy looking at the ground when I ducked. I heard the furniture behind me crash in a pile of wood as the monster crashed into it, grunting in more irritation than pain. At that moment, the only thing I was really thinking about was getting the hell out of that place.

I stumbled back to my feet, sliding a bit on the ground before I finally got my footing and ran to the front door. The grunting of the creature told me that he was following in hot pursuit. I made my way to the front door and reached for the doorknob. It sent a massive wave of pain through my body, making me pull it back with a scream. This scream seemed to encourage the monster behind me, which barked out a loud growl.

Thinking fast, I drove toward a closed door next to me. The rotten wood crashed and tumbled under me as I fell in the next room. I heard the creature behind me skid to a halt and hit the front door, screeching in horrible pain. I quickly stood up and ran through the room. I tried touching the window, but even that caused me pain. It dawned on me that there was no way to escape. That monster would just keep chasing me until one of us gave up.

That monster didn't look like one that would give up.

I pushed this pessimistic thought out of my head as I ran toward a door to another room, opening it and slamming it behind me as I heard the monster get up. I moved like this, from room to room, slamming the doors behind me to slow the monster down. From the sound of crashing wood behind me, I don't think it was really working.

Eventually, I found myself in a large room with only one door: The door I just entered from. The sound of crashing wood was getting louder as the Monster came closer. I looked around for any place to hide. There was a large window on the opposite wall, which I knew would hurt me if I touched it. There were curtains next to it, but they were too high to hide behind; My feet would be visible. However, they were tall enough to reach the ceiling, and hanging on it was a chandelier, the light from the dirty window glistening on the deliciously sharp crystals. An idea came to my head as I looked from the curtains to the chandelier.

As I ran to the curtains to execute my plan, I heard the door behind me crash. Knowing the Monster was gaining on me, I picked up speed, jumping and grabbing the curtain. Thank God it was firmly attached to the wall. It was difficult to climb, but I had practice climbing rope in Gym class and the incentive that if I failed, I'd be eaten alive by the monster that was growling at the bottom of the curtains, so I climbed that sucker as fast as possible.

I eventually reached the top and looked over at the Chandelier hanging away from me. It looked a lot closer to the curtains from ground level, but I could hear the monster snarling and pacing the bottom of the room, so I didn't really have much of a choice but to jump. I closed my eyes, took a breath, and kicked off from the wall, reaching forward as far as I could to get to the Chandelier.

I ALMOST missed. My hands reached the edge and clung for dear life. My added weight caused it to tilt, bringing me a little too close to slipping and falling. I grunted as I pulled myself up, grabbing onto different pieces and bits of the Chandelier as I pulled myself to it. I could hear the rope holding it to the ceiling groan already as I finally reached a safe spot on it. I peered over to see the monster in completeness for the first time.

It was a four legged creature, big and with grey flesh. The legs that came from the bottom seemed to be little stubs with long claws, at least six on each stub. The body was muscular, seeming to pulsate with veins and nerves. The head was the scariest: It was just a single mouth, split open like a clover with revolving teeth. Just looking at it from my distance made me almost faint. Gulping, I looked down to see it was still pacing around. I needed it to be under the Chandelier, so I pulled off a crystal from it and threw it down, smacking it hard on the head. It turned to me and growled.

"Hey ugly!" I called down to it. "Come and get me!"

It screeched a horrible screech, running directly under me and jumping to try to get to me. I looked to the rope and pulled as hard as I could, jumping on the Chandelier. It shook, shook, and suddenly, the rope snapped, making the Chandelier fall. I quickly kicked off it and grunted as I rolled to the ground a little bit away. There was a crash, a scream, and a whimper before all sound died. I could even hear an odd tone fade away outside. I slowly got up and turned to see the creature, sliced open and bleeding on the ground. With a sigh, I stood up and leaned against the window, only to find that it didn't hurt anymore.

"Okay… I can… I can get out now…" I panted, the adrenalin rush from the chase already fading. Before leaving, though, I walked slowly back to the room I saw the tiny creature in and looked. The creature was gone. I looked all around the house, but he was nowhere to be found there, either. I finally just gave up and walked out through the front door. The outside air seemed… different, somehow. As if more things moved in as I was in the house. Shuddering to myself, I continued to walk through the Ghost Town.

Little did I know that I was being watched…

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Wow… I didn't even know I could write stuff like that! Well anyway, until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10: Corruption

**Author's Note: Maybe I should read "To Kill a Mockingbird" some day. I'm watching the movie right now, and it's really cool. So I came to the conclusion that, since the book is always a thousand times better than the movie, the book must be really REALLY cool. Anyway, here's the chapter! My mind's still recovering from the General White thing from Monday's chapter, because right now I'm writing from a parallel time in which today is actually last Friday, but… aw well, what can ya do? Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 10: Corruption<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>Enter Abby:<strong>_

* * *

><p>I stepped across the field, destroying the creature that stole Daisy from me the first thing on my mind.<p>

"Hey!"

I spun around and held up my sword, ready to fight whatever shouted at me. A strange creature that looked like a fish on two thin legs ran toward me.

"You… you must… be the one… who took… the… sword…" the fish thing panted. In response, I held the tip of my sword an inch away from his face.

"Tell me why you're here or I fight," I growled.

"My name is Gl'Chyroth, and I've come to stop you!" he said.

Stop me? From saving Daisy? That made him an enemy. I swung my sword down at him, but he rolled out of the way in time.

"WAIT, STOP!" he said.

"I won't let you or any of your monster friends keep me from Daisy!" I snapped, slamming my sword down. A black flame shot out toward the fish creature, and he cried out in pain as he was launched back.

"I don't want to keep you from whoever that is!" the fish said as I ran toward him. "I came to warn you of something!"

I paused. Part of me wanted to hear what he was going to say, part of me, the one full of anger, wanted to just end him right there. It took a minute, but I forced myself to put my arm down and stop trying to strike him.

"You have thirty seconds to talk," I told him. He shakily stood up, wincing from the pain of the burn I just inflicted on him.

"Drop that sword," he told me.

"…what? No!" I shook my head, irritated. "It's the only thing I have to defend myself!"

"I think it's safe to assume that I'm in no condition to fight you even if I wanted to," the fish said. "Plus, look around. Other than me, do you see any monsters?"

I turned my head to see that there really were no monsters around.

"…alright," I finally said. My hand didn't seem to want to let go of the sword, but when I finally made it, my mind cleared and my anger faded.

"Whoa…" I staggered on the spot, my head light. I finally realized what I had just done and ran to his side, bending down.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" I asked, looking at the burn I caused.

"I'll be fine…" the fish said. "…you see, though? The difference you feel?"

I thought for a minute, finally realizing what he meant.

"…that sword makes me angry?" I asked, looking at the dark thing. The grass around where the sword laid was grey and dying.

"Aye," the fish nodded. "…I mean yes, sorry for the old accent."

"I don't mind, but… how in the world?" I asked.

"Well I'm a prophet, so most of my prophesies are given in an old-"

"Not THAT! I'm talking about the sword!"

"Oh… right," sighed the fish. "Well, you see… it's the most powerful unholy weapon in this world."

"…what?" I asked. "Unholy? You mean… it's magical?"

"Well let's see…" the fish said. "You found it in a dark cave, I'm guessing. It makes you angry when you hold it, it's killing the grass around where it sits, and it can create walls of black flames at will."

"Alright, you don't have to be sarcastic…" I muttered, looking over to the sword. "So it just… makes me angry?"

"We've been over that, yes," the fish nodded. "It's designed to draw on the anger of whoever holds it. The more anger you have bottled up, the worse you are when you hold the sword."

"…" I looked down. Yeah… I had some bottled anger, I'll admit.

"Of course," the fish continued, "the angrier you are, the more powerful the sword is, as well. But that's not the point! You should not use a sword that turns you into a raging psychopath!"

"Well…" I rubbed the back of my head. "Isn't that better than going in without a weapon?"

The Fish looked appalled. "Don't think like that!" he begged me. "Nothing good can come from drawing forth your rage!"

"…alright," I nodded. "But then, what do I do with it? What if someone else picks it up? I can't just leave it here."

"Here?" the fish looked around. "No one in their right mind crosses these plains, usually."

"Alright," I sighed. "That's good-wait, what? What do you mean by that?"

"Well," the fish said, "these plains are located around the same place as the home of the Orcs."

"Orcs?" I jumped back in alarm. "The ones from Lord of the Rings?"

"Lord of the what?" the fish asked. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

"Just… never mind," I sighed. "Can we get out of here without running into any monsters?"

"Well…" The fish turned north. "I came from that direction. There were a few monsters along the way, but nothing I couldn't hide from. Plus, he was heading north… not very many monsters rest there…"

"He?" I asked. "Who's he?"

"Another one of your kind," the Fish said. "He was wading through the lake when I appeared."

"Another one?" I asked, eyes widening. "So they landed here, too! You said he was north?"

"Yes," the fish nodded. I turned to go, but I paused.

"…but what about Daisy?" I asked.

"Hm?" the fish asked. "Daisy?"

"My girlfriend," I explained. "A monster took her and flew off that way."

I pointed in the direction the monster carried Daisy off to.

"Oh," the fish said. "She must have been taken to the castle, then."

"Castle?" I asked. "You mean… there's a kingdom here?"

Before the fish could answer, a loud, beastly growl came from close by. We turned to see a group of Orcs running forward, carrying blunt weapons and axes.

"We have to run!" the fish said in a panic. He tried to run, but his legs gave way under him, making him drop on the ground in pain.

"G-Go!" he said when I bent down to pick him up. "Save yourself!"

"…" I stood there, looking between the fish and the Orcs, then my eyes fell on the dark sword sitting on the ground.

"…don't do it," the fish warned, seeing where my eyes fell.

"I have to," I finally said, bending down to the sword.

"No, you DON'T!" the Fish said. "Don't touch that sword! It will corrupt your mind and your body!"

His words fell on deaf ears as I gripped the handle of the sword. I could feel the power flowing up my arm and into my body as I stood up and turned to face the Orc army.

"Come and get me…" I muttered. I ran directly toward the army, holding my sword behind me. We soon met, and the first Orc swung his heavy axe at me. I sliced it clean in half with my sword before stabbing the Orc in the gut. I charged up the dark power, then released it in a wave, tearing the Orc apart and knocking back the Orcs standing around it. I pulled my sword out of the corpse and slashed three times in front of me before stabbing the ground. The areas I slashed turned into walls of flames, which shot out and burnt the Orcs. I pulled the sword out of the ground before running forward, now gripping the handle with both hands. I jumped into the air, used the head of an Orc as a platform, jumped up, and stabbed down at the ground, sending off a shockwave of dark energy. I pulled my sword up, forcing the Orcs close with an almost magnet like effect before finally spinning with my sword held out, slicing them all in half.

"…no," the Fish whispered, staring wide eyed at the pile of corpses that lay at my feet. "DROP THE SWORD!"

"…no," I said, grinning at the sword in my hand. I've never felt so… free. The anger that coursed through me… I didn't have to hold it back anymore. I could just let it run. "It feels… good. I like this power."

I turned in the direction of the castle. "So… it looks like I'll be seizing a castle."

"Don't do it!" the fish warned, but I stopped listening to him. I dashed toward the castle, the sword held out behind me.

One way or another, someone was going to pay for taking away my Daisy.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Nooooo, not the corrupted power of anger! Well anyway, did you know that I exist in a different plane of time when writing this? It flows in strange and mysterious ways. For example, I started this chapter Friday, and now it's Monday! You can't explain that now, can you? Well, until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11: Cliffside

**Author's Note: Gah… alright, truth be told, I didn't think up as much for Mike as I did for everyone else. I only really had one "scene" for him in my dream, and I'm not sure what it had to do with the rest of the story. However, I already planned out him to be a part of the plan at the story's climax, so I just have to keep on trudging through, I suppose. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 11: Cliffside<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>Enter Mike:<strong>_

* * *

><p>I had been walking for a while, staying near the river. On one hand, I hadn't run into any monsters since the whole giant squid in the lake thing. On the other hand, I hadn't run into anyone else I fell into this dome with, either.<p>

"Alright Mike…" I said to myself as I walked. "Let's see what you know so far. Today started off like normal. You stopped at the bus stop with Daisy, Abby, Paulo, Dave and McCain. We were talking about something stupid. Sue ran up and told us about the dome. We ran to Lucy's house and saw her get sucked in. You and Paulo tried to pull her out but wound up getting pulled in with everyone else. Neither McCain nor Sue were pulled in. We all fell away from each other and landed in pages. If everyone else was like you, the pages transformed into another location. You appeared in a lake, were almost killed by a squid, then a fish thing killed it before running south to encounter some corrupted person."

I was silent for a few minutes as I let all this knowledge sink in.

"…I could feel the water around me," I said. "I can even feel that some of my body's still wet. Either I'm having a VERY vivid dream, or I really am in another world."

I was so busy thinking, I didn't even notice the snowflakes falling down gently. It was only when I couldn't hear the river anymore and my feet started to feel cold that I looked up.

I apparently passed through a biome shift while I was walking, because I could see that ahead of me was a field full of snow. I turned back to see snow slowly turning to grass, so the two biomes basically bled together.

"Right…" I pulled my scarf up and hugged my arms to myself before walking forward again. "Well… it's better than a volcano, I guess."

I continued to walk forward, focusing on finding something that could help me understand what's happening, or better yet, go home. I found myself wishing I had fallen in with someone, at least so I didn't feel as… well, alone. At least Paulo and David fell together, even if it was forced. And Abby and Daisy, those two stayed together.

…but Lucy…

I shook my head, forcing myself to stop thinking about her. It was probably better that me and Lucy weren't together, because if we were, we might fall back into that same pattern. She'd grow dependant on me, just like she always had been…

…but she was alone. She needed someone with her. She hated being alone, and with us in this new, unfamiliar world…

"Why am I thinking about her so much now?" I asked myself, shaking some snow off my head.

_Because she could be in danger_, I reasoned with myself. _You saw that giant squid, what if there are worse things where she is?_

I eventually slowed down to a stop and looked up to see a HUGE cliff, with a frozen waterfall coming down. I also saw, upon closer inspection, that it was only the outside layer that was frozen solid. The inside was still flowing.

"…that explains how this river flows from here all the way to the lake," I said to myself, looking up the cliff. "Hm… now how do I get up there…"

I tried to put my hand on the frozen waterfall, seeing if it was suitable to climb. I couldn't keep a firm grip on it, and even if I could, it was way too cold to actually hold on to and climb up.

"Hm…" I looked around for any way up. The cliff was nearly vertical to a 90 degree angle, and…

…wait, what was that in the distance? It looked like… a bunch of dots zooming up the cliff…

Keeping my scarf close and breathing into it to keep myself warm, I moved forward to get a closer look at what I thought I saw. The closer I got, the more detail the dots had, until I saw them to be skinny, furry four legged creatures that looked like a cross between a wolf and a seal. They ran impossibly fast on long, thin legs, and they even managed to run directly up the cliff. From the look of how they were moving, it was like they were migrating.

"…huh," I said. A few turned their heads toward me as I said this. I took a sharp breath and stood still, hoping they wouldn't trample me. They stared at me for a few moments before running again.

…wait a moment. They didn't have ears, how could they have heard me?

A thought came to my mind. I pulled my scarf down and exhaled. The creatures turned toward me as I did so.

"…so they can sense heat," I muttered to myself. "Does that mean there's something warm up the cliff?"

A few of them were shuffling closer to me as I was talking. An idea formed in my head. I took off my scarf, rubbed it against my fur quickly to generate heat, and threw it away from me. The creature's heads followed the scarf and, once it landed, they ran to it. They stuck their noses at the scarf a little bit before the heat wore off, then they went back to running up the cliff.

"So it's an attraction to heat, then…" I said, picking up my scarf and shaking the snow off it. I turned my head to the creatures running up the cliff effortlessly. An idea to climb the cliff came to me, but at first I thought it was crazy: I'd never ridden ANYTHING before, let alone something that could run up at a 90 degree angle.

But then again, how else was I supposed to get up there? Plus, if these things were attracted to heat, there must have been something warm up there.

I started to jump in my spot, running in place, bending down and quickly getting up, doing anything to generate more body heat. I know I must've looked like an idiot, but I knew it was working because after about a minute, the creatures were paying more attention to me. As sweat started to build on my brow, a few of them slowly marched toward me. I took off my scarf and continued to do squat thrusts, ready to jump. When one of them came close enough to nudge me, I grabbed it's head and made for the back.

It wasn't easy-those things were REALLY slick. I felt myself sliding and slipping as I struggled to get onto the moving and turning creature. Once I finally got onto the back, I threw my scarf around its neck and held on for dear life. The creature let out a weird sort of bark mixed with a whinny before dashing toward the cliff. I wrapped the scarf's edges around my hands and braised myself for the run.

My eyes were clamped shut, so the only reason I knew we were going directly up was because I suddenly felt myself hanging on completely by my scarf, my body no longer even touching the back of the creature. The creature was galloping up the cliff, and when I felt like we were almost there, I heard a terrifying rip.

I opened my eyes in time to see the cliff's top come to view… and my scarf slowly unraveling. Eyes widening, I prayed that it would stay until we reached the top.

And, to be fair, it technically did.

The MOMENT the creature climbed to the top, the scarf ripped in half, and I slid off the creature and dangerously close to falling off the cliff. I held on to the edge, digging my fingers into the snow as my palms were covered by the two halves of my scarf. I was hanging off the edge, my feet dangling in open air. I didn't dare look down, but to my left and right, I saw more of those creatures run past me and onto the cliff. I tried to pull myself up, but the snow kept making my hands slipping every time I tried to pull myself up.

A stupid idea came to my head, but I was panicking, so I couldn't think of anything else to do. As I heard a gallop come close, I let go of the cliff and reached for the legs of one of those creatures.

Thankfully, lady luck seemed to be madly in love with me at that moment, because I managed to easily catch the leg of one of the creatures, which let out a bark/whinny as it took on a burst of speed and went over the cliff before collapsing, making me roll with it. I let go, rolling on the ground and landing on my back. I could feel the adrenaline fade from my veins as I took deep breaths. I slowly got up and looked around to see a cave next to a hot spring, which all the creatures were gathered around and resting by. With a sigh of relief, I got up on shaky legs and moved to the cave, sitting down near a wall and hugging my legs to my chest.

"God…" I said shakily, looking out at the snowy field outside the cave. "…maybe I should have gone south after all."

I stayed in that cave for a while, occasionally getting up and walking to make sure my legs were alright and to keep myself awake.

Still… I couldn't help but think of my friends as I stayed in that cave. Lucy… was she okay? What about Daisy and Abby? They were together, but still… and what about Paulo and David?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Yes, what about Paulo and David? Find out in the next chapter! 'Till then, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12: Volcano

**Author's Note: CRAP, I forgot to upload this chapter today! Sorry guys, I was just so excited about today. It's the Fall Festival and all! Ah, the marvelous parties that small towns can put on… well, I won't bore you with the only thing that makes living in this redneck center bearable. And now, we're back with Paulo and David! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 12: Volcano<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Paulo:<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Ah…" I swallowed a grape fed to me by a native. "This is the life…"<p>

The natives were carrying me and David on a bed above their heads, feeding us and basically treating us like Gods. The entire village was carrying us and marching up the volcano, probably to bring us to a temple and worship us some more.

"…hey Paulo?" Dave asked, poking me in the arm.

"Dave, I'm trying to enjoy being worshiped here," I replied, eyes still closed. "You should do the same."

"But what about Daisy?" Paulo asked.

"What about… she's with Abby," I replied. "She'll be… safe."

Damn. Dave brought me back down to Earth (or wherever the hell this was) by reminding me about that. We were almost slaughtered by a giant bug these natives summoned, who knows what kind of dangers they would face? And I guess Mike's in trouble, too. Plus, he was alone, while Daisy and Abby were together. I was even with Dave, but Mike… and even Lucy was totally alone. I started to worry-

"What's an Abby?" Dave asked.

"What's an… Dave-" I started, turning my head to see he was holding up a Daisy.

"…where did you get that flower?" I asked.

"I picked it!" he said cheerfully.

"But… when?"

"When that bug was attacking you!"

"There weren't any flowers there!"

"Well obviously you didn't see them, otherwise you would have picked them," Dave said in a final tone, sticking his tongue out at me. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Just… look," I said. "We'll relax at their temple or wherever they're carrying us for a bit, then we'll see how much info we can find about this world. Maybe we'll find out where our friends are."

"Temple?" Dave asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah," I nodded. "You know, like, a temple to worship I. C. Weiner or something. I mean, why else would they carry us up to the top of this hunk of rock?"

"Maybe to throw us in so we can join the Volcano God in the glorious other world?" suggested Dave. It was about then we were helped off the bed and shown to the mouth of the volcano.

"…whoa," I gulped, looking down at the magma inside the volcano. Heat was pouring out of the top, making me sweat just by being near it. "Why are we here?"

"We throw you in so you join Volcano God in glorious other world!" the chief said.

"What?" I asked in alarm, stepping back. "Why?"

"It say so in prophesy!" the chief said. "When Prophets come from heaven, we must send them to Volcano God's world so they may obtain powers of heaven to save world!"

"So we WILL be Superheroes?" Dave asked in excitement. In response to this, I slapped my hand over his mouth.

"What if… er, and this is COMPLETELY hypothetical…" I said slowly, thinking. "Just… what if it turned out that we weren't really prophets? That we were just faking it the whole time?"

"Then we not deliver you to Volcano God," the chief said.

"Oh, okay!" I said, relaxing. "Then-"

"Instead," the chief continued, "we drag you back to town and brutally tear you apart before letting monsters consume your corpses to please the Volcano God for you being damnable blasphemers."

"…oh," I gulped. "Right…"

The Natives "helped" us to the edge of the volcano. Both Dave and I looked down to see the magma bubbling under us.

"Come on, Dave…" I muttered to my friend. "Help me think of a way out of this…"

"We could tell them we're not really who we lied and said we are," suggested Dave.

"…that would mean they'd SLAUGHTER us," I said slowly.

"Well that makes things simple!" Dave said. "Being slaughtered is bad, so we'll jump into the volcano!"

"…Dave." I put my hands on his shoulders. "We'd fall into magma. It would burn us to a crisp. That would ALSO be bad."

"Boy, you have a tough time making up your mind!" huffed Dave. "If it's not one thing, it's another!"

"You okay?" asked the chief. "You take long time to enter."

"Er…" I thought fast, and suddenly, an idea came to me. "Mortals! Do you have ANY idea how painful it is just to suddenly swap between the Lava God's heaven and this world?"

The Natives looked between themselves in concern.

"…we never thought-" started the chief.

"Never thought… of COURSE you never thought!" I barked, throwing my hands up in the air. "The swap between our two worlds is much too painful to swap between at a moment's notice to any but the Gods themselves! If we just threw ourselves in suddenly, who KNOWS what could happen to us? Do you WANT to disappoint I. C. Weiner by damaging his most beloved prophets? Do you want him angry? Do you want the LAVA GOD angry?"

"I… no!" the chief winced away. "Forgive us, we didn't know!"

"That's what I thought," I huffed, crossing my arms. "Now… there is a way around this. Do you have any SLOW way we can go down?"

The chief shakily pointed to a winding path near the mouth of the volcano that could be walked and climbed down.

"Better," I nodded. "Let's go, Dave."

"Yay!" Dave clapped, and ruined my awesome exit by wrapping his arm with mine and forcing me along the path as he skipped.

"_We're off to see the God, the wonderful Lava God!_" he sang as he skipped along.

"Farewell, prophets!" the Natives waved, and we were soon out of sight of them, climbing down the path into the volcano.

"Alright Dave, let go, let GO!" I said, yanking my arm out of Dave's grip.

"Aw, but the Lava God…" whined Dave.

"There IS no Lava God!" I sighed in exasperation. "I only said that so we could climb down, wait for those Natives to leave, then climb up and escape!"

"…so you're a dirty liar?" asked Dave, pointing at me. I face palmed.

"…yes, Dave," I growled. "I am a dirty liar."

"But that makes me a liar, too!" Dave gasped. "Mommy says lying is bad!"

I felt like hitting my head on a rock until I dropped unconscious.

"…listen," I finally managed, wrapping my arm around Dave's shoulders. "Buddy. Friend. Amigo. Sometimes, lying is the best thing to do."

"Like when?" asked Dave, blinking.

"Let's say, oh for example…" I said, pretending to think. "You get sucked into a black dome and wind up in a strange alternate world knowing fuck all about what's going on or where you are, and then natives come around and threaten to kill you. If you don't lie and say that you're really just a prophet from an angel acting under a God, then they'll murder you. And being murdered is bad, right?"

"Well… yes…" Dave said.

"And then, another example," I continued. "If said Natives are going to kill you if you tell the truth and kick you into a volcano if you keep with the same lie, you have to come up with ANOTHER lie to keep yourself from being slaughtered or from being burnt to a crisp."

"…well a Volcano's better than a snowy field!" Dave said.

"Dave. Focus."

"Right! Focusing…"

"Good," I nodded. "Now… do you know what we have to do now?"

"Bake cookies?" suggested Dave.

"…no Dave," I said, repressing a twitch. "We do not bake cookies."

"Jump into the lava?"

"That would BURN us."

"Explore the volcano?"

"Dave, do you have ANY idea how hot it is in here? I can already feel myself dripping with sweat."

"Uhhhh…"

"I'll give you a hint," I said slowly, pointing to the mouth of the volcano. "It involves going up there."

"…leaving the Volcano?" asked Dave.

"YES!" I said in exasperation. "Yes Dave, that's exactly what we're going to do!"

"And then jump back in?"

"NO! We leave, then go AROUND to avoid the Natives, then put as much distance between us and this place as possible!"

"Oooooh!" Dave nodded. "I get it!"

"Do you?" I crossed my arms.

"Yup!" Dave nodded.

"…alright," I said. "In that case, tell me what I just said."

"You said-Ooh, Shiny!" Dave said, eyes sparkling as he looked over my shoulder.

"Wha… I said nothing about-" I started, but Dave ran past me and into a cavern on the side of the wall of the Volcano.

"DAVE!" I shouted after him. "COME BACK HERE!"

He didn't come back. I bit my lip and looked between the mouth of the volcano to the cave and back.

"…that guy's gonna be the death of me," I muttered, chasing after him into the cave. "DAVE!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Ah, idiot friends… sometimes you like 'em, sometimes you wish you could strangle them. Well, that's it for this chapter, so until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	13. Chapter 13: The School, Hour 1

**Author's Note: It occurs to me that usually I give you guys a bit of an insight to my life in these Author's Notes. But since I've been writing these chapters ahead of time, anything I say here will be in the past. For example, I could tell you that right now I'm thinking of dropping Cross Country to spend more time in Drama Club, but by the time this chapter comes out I probably will have already made up my mind. Aw well, it's cool. Enjoy the chapter, everyone!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 13: The School, Hour 1<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter McCain:<strong>_

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later (or an hour since the dome appeared), the school assembled into the Auditorium. I was standing backstage with Sue.<p>

"Alright…" she breathed. "Got the plan?"

"I do, but you're the one who has to give the speech," I told her. "I assume you have it memorized?"

"Of course!" she said. "I never forget anything!"

"What about that time in sixth grade-"

"THAT WAS ONE MISTAKE, OKAY?"

"Alright, sorry I mentioned it," I said, holding my hands up defensively. "Just head out there and give them a reason not to panic, alright?"

"…alright," Sue smiled, nodding at me. "I will."

She turned, took a breath, and stepped out on stage. I stood in my spot, watching her from behind.

"Students!" she called into the microphone. "Fellow Classmates! Teachers!"

"All the teachers left!" someone in the audience said.

"…oh," Sue blinked. "Okay, there goes an eighth of my speech… well anyway, fellow students! We gather here in bleak times! Outside, a dark barrier has erected and surrounded the school. But now is NOT the time to panic! Panic is the enemy!"

"I thought the barrier outside was the enemy," a kid said, raising his hand.

"Shut up, Lazlo!" Sue pointed to him. The kid started crying, but no one seemed to care. "My point is, if we start to panic, everything will fall into chaos! We won't have any means of defense against whatever the hell is behind that barrier! But if we keep calm and work together, we can overcome that black wall!"

The people in the audience started to mutter in agreement.

"When our team plays a sport, who are we?" Sue asked.

"We are one! We are a team!" a football player said, standing up and pumping his fist.

"When the SATs come along and the school has to make a high average GPA, who are we?" Sue continued.

"We are one! We are a team!" a few more people joined in.

"So what's stopping us from being a team here?" Sue asked. "That wall is our opponent in a sport! That wall is the coming date for the test! But that wall can't stop us, because…"

"We are one! We are a team!" the auditorium chanted.

"I can't hear you!" Sue shouted.

"WE ARE ONE! WE ARE A TEAM!"

"Alright!" Sue said. "I have a plan! Under the school is a complex underground sewer system! It may stink a little, but if we go through it, we can sneak under the wall and escape! We won't let this wall treat us like rats, will it?"

"NO!"

"SO WHO'S WITH ME?"

The auditorium erupted into cheering.

"Everyone gather into the lunch room!" Sue said once the cheering died down enough for her to be heard. "A few people will be sent to scout ahead and plot out a path!"

The auditorium filed out, heading to the lunch room as Sue said.

"…impressive," I complimented as she wiped the sweat off her brow.

"…thanks, McCain," Sue said, smiling at me. "It's defiantly better than those speeches I gave last election."

"And it has more of an impact on how things are run," I nodded. "So do you honestly believe that we'll be able to escape that barrier outside through the sewer system?"

"God I hope so," Sue sighed. "Okay… now… we need to find a few people that are suicidal enough to forge through the sewers and find a way forward."

"I'll go," I told her, "on the condition I don't have to bring Carter,"

"That can be arranged," Sue nodded. "I have to stay here and make sure everyone's calm, so I can't go with you."

"That's fine," I shrugged. "I can go in alone."

"No," Sue shook her head. "It's too dangerous to head in there alone."

"Sue, they're just sewers," I reminded her. "Worst case scenario, I'll need a shower afterwards."

"…alright," Sue finally said. "Just find a way out and hurry back."

"That was my plan," I shrugged.

* * *

><p>I grunted, heaving as I pried the manhole cover open with a crowbar. Below it was a deep hole, stretching down into the underground.<p>

"Right…" I said, hooking the crowbar around my belt before sliding in and climbing down the hole into the sewers.

It looked… well, like you would expect a sewer to look. Contaminated water flowed below, and walkways stayed near the walls, allowing me to walk through the sewers without worrying about catching something from the water.

Seeing as the barrier was in a huge circle around the area, going straight in a single direction seemed like the smartest choice. I walked as close to the wall as I could, staying on the path and heading straight. The minutes ticked by as I walked, the only sound other than my footsteps being the water flowing nearby. Five minutes passed. Ten. Fifteen. After twenty minutes passed, I slowed to a stop at what I saw.

The dark wall, which seemed to seep down into the ground, stood in front of me. I could feel it's suction power, the sewer water even being pulled into it.

"So… going underground is out of the question…" I muttered to myself. Suddenly, the wall was no longer sucking anything in. It stood, rippling like the surface of black water. Now, seeing as a moment ago it was violently sucking things in, and now it was standing still and seemingly peaceful, I thought that the best thing to do in that situation was to run in the other direction. As I stepped back to do that, however, the section of the wall in front of me began to vibrate violently. I turned completely around and ran as fast as I could, and directly behind me, I heard the sound of cloth tearing and a loud snarl. I didn't bother looking back, I knew whatever I saw wouldn't be pretty.

The sound of a four legged creature chasing after me sounded from behind, accompanied by snarls. As I ran, I slowly realized that it was a twenty minute walk between here and the manhole cover. Even if I could run at top speed for that long, I would be leading whatever that was straight to the school. I had to lose it in the sewers. I knew exactly how to do it, but it wasn't exactly the most pleasant of ideas. Nevertheless, I had to lose it. I took a deep breath, held it, and jumped into the sewer water to the side.

I'll spare you the details and just say that it wasn't exactly a warm bubble bath. I broke my face from the surface and turned to see the thing that was chasing after me. It looked like a strange crossbreed between a snake, a hawk and a horse, and it was glaring down right at me. It's knees bent, and I realized that it was about to lunge at me. I held my breath and submerged my body in the water, swimming in another direction. With a powerful splash, I heard the creature land, so I made my way to the surface as quickly as I could so I could get out of the water. However, behind me I heard an agonized scream. When I surfaced again, I turned to see the creature screeching and smoking in the water.

_It can't handle sewer water?_ I thought, but I didn't dwell on this for long. It just meant that it had a weakness-and I could fight against it. I pulled the crowbar out of my belt and swam toward the flailing creature, swinging down on its back. It screamed as the spot I hit crumbled like wet paper. The more I hit it, the more it seemed to feel like that until, eventually, all that was left floating down the steam of sewer water were shards of paper. I swam back to the pathway and pulled myself up, leaning against the wall and panting. I regretted this a minute later, though, as I could taste the water. I spat on the spot, almost gagging.

"Okay… okay," I finally said, calming down. "I have to get back and warn everyone about this."

I got up, turning around and running back in the direction of the manhole cover.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Monsters leaking into the Real World? Oh no, what will they do? I guess you guys will find out in… six chapters. Well then, until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>

**PS: This is the very first chapter that Word has said is totally spell-error free! Huzzah!**


	14. Chapter 14: Mind Reaper

**Author's Note: We're back inside the fantasy world with Ned and the brainwashed Daisy! We're about to be introduced to a MAJOR character of the story here! I won't keep you waiting, just enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 14: Mind Reaper<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Ned:<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Hm…" I sat in thought in the middle of the ballroom, next to my wonderful queen. I looked in my colored pencil box and turned to her. "What do you think the walls should be colored?"<p>

"Well…" Daisy looked at the walls in thought. "I like the color of marble. Marble pillars, maybe a few statues here and there."

"Yeah, that would look cool, but…" I shook the colored pencil case. "I CAN make it any color I want."

"But do you really want to make it any color?" Daisy asked me honestly.

"…well, good point," I sighed.

"Don't think I'm discouraging you though, my king!" Daisy put her hand on my shoulder. "If you really want to make it pink with purple polka dots, don't let me stop you!"

"It's not that," I said. "Just… well, you just reminded me how I CAN do anything in the world, but… now that I think about it, do I really want to?"

"Don't feel like you have to do things just because you can," Daisy suggested. "Do what you feel like doing."

"…that's a… really good point, Daisy," I blinked. She giggled.

"I'm glad I could be of service, my lord," she curtsied to me.

"Now then…" I said, looking up higher on the wall. "Do you want to design this stained glass window?"

"I designed the last one, why don't you do this one?" Daisy said.

"Alright," I nodded, starting to sketch an awesome stained glass picture of me with a sword in an epic pose.

"Oh?" Daisy turned around. "My lord, the Yibirth Macisto is stirring."

"It is?" I asked, turning to it. "Oh, it is!"

I dropped the notebook I was drawing the stained glass picture in and picked up the book, opening it and watching the words being written in front of me.

"_Something terrible is happening,_" the book wrote.

"What?" I asked, my heart jumping. "What's happening?"

"Huh?" Daisy blinked at me. "What's going on?"

"Look!" I said, turning the book toward her.

"_Monsters are passing through the barrier between this and the other world,_" the book wrote. "_They're attacking innocent people wandering in that world._"

"Oh no…" I said. "That's terrible! Isn't there anything I can do to stop them?"

"_Unfortunately, no,_" the book wrote. "_These monsters cannot be affected by you._"

"No…" I shook my head. "I'm an idiot! I never should have made those monsters!"

"You had no way of knowing…" Daisy said, wrapping her arms around me.

"People are getting hurt!" I said, tearing up. "I may not have known, but I still caused it! And there's nothing I can do to stop it!"

"…my Lord, look," Daisy said. "Open your eyes, the book is trying to tell you something."

I wiped the tears out of my eyes and looked down at what the book was saying.

"_Please, calm down. You may not be able to do anything, but what if you made another monster to stop them?_"

"…make a monster to stop a monster?" I blinked. "Well… I'm not really sure. How could I keep control over a monster strong enough to stop those Monsters?"

"_That's the best part,_" the book wrote. "_If you create it by your hand, it can be manipulated. While you may not be able to handle a monster of that magnitude-no offense._"

"None taken."

"_Thank you-while you may not be able to handle a monster of that magnitude, I can._"

"You can… what are you saying?" I asked the book.

"_I'm saying that if you make a monster, I can stop the monsters from entering the other world and hurting anyone._"

"Really?" I asked. "Oh, that's great!"

"But what kind of Monster will you make?" asked Daisy.

"I can… um… hm…" I thought for a minute. "You know… nothing I can think of is really practical to get the Monsters…"

"_I have an idea,_" the book wrote, flipping forward a few pages to a creepy looking Monster. It was hunched, had a skull for a face, and had a few notes attached to it.

"Wow…" I said. "This looks really… well, kind of evil."

"_Looks can be deceiving,_" the book wrote. "_Trust me, I'll do exactly what's needed…_"

"…well alright," I said, opening my notebook to the creatures section. "…oh, wait! I know a cool addition that would really help out this monster!"

"What would that be?" asked Daisy.

"What if… this thing could know exactly what anything it looks at is thinking?" I suggested.

"That sounds… terrifying, but useful," Daisy nodded.

"What do you think, book?" I asked the Yibirth Macisto. It was silent for a few moments.

"…book?" I asked, worried. Suddenly, it started writing again.

"_That is an incredibly brilliant idea,_" it wrote. "_I'm honestly ashamed that I didn't think of it first._"

"Oh stop, you're making me blush," I said modestly, picking up my pencil and drawing the creature. A few minutes passed, and the creature was ready.

"Alright!" I said, holding my notebook out. "Through the power of my imagination and the magic of the Yibirth Macisto, I summon you… THE MIND REAPER!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Mind Reaper:<strong>_

* * *

><p>Nothing.<p>

Silence.

Darkness.

Form.

Shape.

Space.

Time.

Moving.

Things in front.

Move.

Look at thing with paper.

_Wow, that thing looks really creepy! But… wait, it's looking right at me! Oh, it must be reading my mind! It probably knows what I'm thinking right now!_

Think?

Read mind?

It?

It… me.

I it.

I read mind.

I move.

I see creature next to him.

_-moving really slow… oh no, it's looking at me. Don't think, don't think, don't think…_

No think?

I feel… fear.

She fear.

Me.

She fear me.

I feared?

I… scary.

I am scary.

Not-scared creature talk.

I no understand what he say.

I look at not-scared creature.

_-so it's really cool that you're here and all! The book, that one over there, said it would guide you, so… I should tell him good luck. Good luck!_

What he say, he think.

I know what he think.

I know what he say.

Only him?

I look at scared creature.

_Oh it's looking at me again! It knows I'm scared, I'm thinking it right now!_

She hide behind non-scared.

_She looks really scared… it's okay, there's nothing to be scared of._

I turn around.

"He won't hurt you, I promise!"

I no look, I hear what he say.

"…alright." This scared. "If you say so, my lord…"

I understand her, too.

I turn to them. I look between one and the other.

…_I wonder what he's thinking right now._

_Don't be afraid, don't be afraid…_

_-maybe the book will take control soon._

_-lord says he won't hurt me, I trust him._

Only one at time?

Only one I look at.

I hear thoughts when I look.

I hear words when mouths move.

I make words with mouth?

I open mouth.

Hiss comes out.

Scared and non-scared jump.

I make hiss?

I scare with hiss.

Something in head.

**You're mine now, Mind Reaper.**

Who you?

**I am your Master.**

Why?

**Because I control you.**

…okay.

**Now listen… to the west, there is a girl who seems to have brought two creatures out of hiding.**

Okay.

**I want you to get those creatures. You can do whatever you want to the girl.**

Okay. Where West?

**I'll lead you.**

I feel pull.

I turn and move toward pull.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Ned:<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Oh… there he goes!" I said, watching as the Mind Reaper turned and slid away. I say he slid because he didn't have any feet, it was like the bottom part of his body was just moving across the ground without even touching it. "Oh, thanks book! Now those monsters won't know what hit them!"<p>

"_You're absolutely right,_" the book wrote. "_Those monsters will have no idea what hit them._"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Duh-duh-duuuuuuuh! Well, next chapter will bring us to Lucy! Buuut… the Mind Reaper is making his way to her, too! What's going to happen? Find out next time on the Yibirth Macisto! Until then, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	15. Chapter 15: Escape

**Author's Note: Alright, I have a chart planned out for the plot of the next few "hours" so the Yibirth Macisto is going great, plot-wise. Not the Yibirth Macisto in the book, of course, but the book itself. The one you're reading right now. Okay, even I admit this gets a little confusing… well anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 15: Escape<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Lucy:<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Hello?" I called out in vain for possibly the hundredth time. "Little monster? You can come out, I won't hurt you!"<p>

The only noise that returned to me was the sound of my own echo.

For the past hour or so, I had been walking down the endless, foggy town, searching for the tiny creature. I wasn't even sure if it was good or not, but I knew two things: One; it looked intelligent, so it may have been able to give me answers, and Two; it was much smaller than me, so if it tried anything I could easily squish it.

"Come on…" I muttered, looking around. I saw a statue nearby that I swore I had already passed four thousand and twelve times. Walking up to it, I looked up and glared. It was made of stone and it looked like an old Dog, dressed like a mayor. It looked old and worn down, just like everything else in that fucking town. I wanted to get my frustration out, so I picked up a loose brick nearby and threw it at the statue. It hit the statue's head with a clunk, and the stone head cracked and fell off.

"I swear…" I muttered, walking straight on. "If I ever find out who or what pulled me here, I will personally introduce their ass to my foot…"

A few minutes later, I came to another statue of the mayor. I turned to look at it…

…to see that it's head was gone. Next to it was a brick and a cracked stone head.

"…WHAT THE HELL?" I screamed. "ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT I JUST LOOP HERE EVERY SINGLE TIME?"

"TIME… Time… time…" my echo replied. Nearby, I could hear the steady stomps of footsteps. Expecting the worst, I ran to a nearby house and hid beneath some timber. I carefully moved some in front of my face and peeked out to keep an eye out for what was passing.

Turned out it was a Troll. Or at the very least, it looked a lot like one. It was big and lumbering with a club, basically like the Troll in the first Harry Potter movie. It looked around the area stupidly, I guess to find the source of that shout. I stayed completely still, not moving a muscle. The Troll searched for a few more minutes before finally turning around and walking past the statue. As it walked, the fog around it got heavier and rippled before fading away, leaving nothing but air where the Troll was.

"…that must be the exit!" I said to myself, pushing the lumber off myself and running toward the statue. My brain finally caught up to me halfway there, though, and I skidded to a stop.

"…wait a minute," I said to myself. "A TROLL just walked through there. If I follow it, then I'd wind up standing behind it, along with God knows what else."

I stood in silence for a minute.

"…and when did I start talking to myself?" I sighed, shaking my head. "Doesn't matter anyway… this looks like my only way out, so…"

I turned to the lumber nearby. I picked up the biggest slab that I could carry and slowly walked to the spot the Troll vanished into. I shut my eyes, took a deep breath, and forced my legs to walk forward.

When I finally opened my eyes again…

…I was standing behind the statue.

"…what?" I asked, looking around. The town was still foggy, the statue was still there, and I was still in the same exact place.

"Okay, you've GOT to be kidding me," I said to myself, running back and forth through the spot the Troll disappeared from. I didn't vanish or step through magic teleporting fog or anything.

"Give me a BREAK!" I shouted in frustration.

"BREAK… Break… break…" my echo replied. After a moment, I heard slithering.

"Oh God, not again," I muttered, diving for the pile of lumber again. I managed to cover myself up in time for another monster to come up. It looked a lot like the monster I ran from in the woods, only instead of wings, it had humps with… teeth. I inhaled sharply, and the monster turned its head toward me. Eyes widening, I completely froze in place, held my breath, did everything I could possibly do to make myself invisible. The monster stared at me for a few moments before, to my utter horror, it slowly marched closer to me.

_There's no way to run away,_ I thought. _If I move back, it'll see me move. Or… sense, or whatever._

I gripped the plank of wood in my hand tighter. The monster made a strange rattling growl.

_Alright… I can't hide, and I can't run,_ I thought. _I don't have much of a choice… it looks like I'm fighting. It may know I'm here, but I can still get a surprise hit in!_

I waited in silence, letting the monster slowly get closer. Once it got close enough, I suddenly jumped up and swung my plank. Splinters practically littered my back from this, but it also caught the creature off guard as I hit it as hard as I could on the head with my plank. The wood shattered, and the monster knocked back and fell on the ground. I didn't have time to celebrate, however, when it slowly got up, shaking it's head. Looking down in my hands, I saw the plank of woods had broken into a flat stake. Looking back up at the monster, which was climbing back onto its legs, I stood my ground and held the stake tightly. My legs were shaking like crazy, but I didn't pay them any attention.

The monster charged at me, and it took all my willpower not to run away. The closer the monster came to me, the tighter I gripped the stake in my hands. As the monster leaped, I shut my eyes and stabbed forward with the stake. I heard a horrible, disgusting sound, like flesh being ripped apart, before I heard a cry of pain and the sound of a body collapsing. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the monster dead on the ground in front of me.

"…wow," I blinked, looking at the stake in my hands. I saw my arms shaking with the loss of adrenaline, and my legs felt like they were ready to collapse from under me.

A noise near the monster's corpse made me turn around. Standing near its underside was the tiny creature from last time.

"…where did you come from?" I asked, making it jump and turn toward me. "…wait a minute! You're the one who controlled that monster, weren't you?"

The creature shook its head nervously, backing up.

"Oh no, you're not leaving!" I said, dropping the stake and marching after it. "I want answers, NOW!"

In response, the creature turned around and ran ridiculously fast, phasing through the fog and vanishing.

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" I screamed, throwing a plank at the spot it vanished into. I took heavy breaths, pissed off beyond belief. My head slowly turned to the corpse of the monster nearby, then to the spot those other monsters vanished from.

"…wait a minute," I said, finally realizing. "Only MONSTERS can pass through that fog!"

I turned back to the monster corpse, thinking. I had an idea, but I really, REALLY didn't want to do it. Still though, it was pretty much the safest-and ONLY-way to go through. The monster was on its side, so that made my job easier. I picked up the stake, knelt down next to the monster, then stabbed its stomach. The sharpened wood penetrated the flesh, and with a tug, the gut was ripped open.

I was prepared to back off as the entrails and blood pooled out, so imagine my surprise when I found the monster was completely hollow.

"…well that makes it easier," I said, tossing the stake behind my back. I crawled into the opening and heaved, shoving the monster's corpse back on its feet. I felt around the inside of the monster until I came to the front, and soon, I gouged out the eyes, which were like two marbles in the head with no nerves or anything.

"This is just getting weirder by the minute," I muttered to myself, kneeling to keep the corpse as close to the ground as possible while still walking flat on my feet. "…said the girl who's walking inside of a monster's corpse."

I positioned myself in front of the spot where the Troll and the tiny bastard vanished into, my knees knelt and ready to sprint. As I did this, my mind went back to Mike and how fast he could run. I started to wish the two of us could have landed in together…

I shook my head clear of the thoughts. Now wasn't the time to daydream, now was the time to get the hell out of this town. I sprinted forward as fast as I could, breathing sharply. The fog in front of me condensed, the town vanished, and when the fog cleared again, I was in the middle of a field, full to the brim with monsters. I forced myself to not faint from the sight of all these horrible monsters as I slowed my sprint down to a march and fell in line with more monsters that looked like the one I was pretending to be. The horde marched on, and eventually forked. Half were going on a long line toward a line of mountains in the distance, and half were marching… in another direction, I couldn't see any landmarks where they were going toward. To my right I saw what looked like the beginning of a swamp, and I swear I thought I saw something miniscule moving across the grass and into the swamp.

_Is that the tiny monster?_ I thought. _Well… this is my only chance to see. It can't be worse than the town, anyway._

I turned and weaved between the monsters, which didn't really pay me much attention. Once I was out of the horde, I made myself keep a steady pace as I marched into the swamp.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Mind Reaper:<strong>_

* * *

><p>Lot of weird things.<p>

**Pay them no attention, the creatures are in that swamp over there.**

Swamp? Okay.

I keep moving into Swamp.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Well, now… I can't believe it. I have COMPLETELY written out the ENTIRE plot of the Yibirth Macisto, including the back story and everything! I've NEVER had an entire story planned out like this! Oh, this is getting REALLY exciting for me! Well, until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	16. Chapter 16: Monster

**Author's Note: …you know, I have so many of these chapters already written that technically I could choose to take a week off. But that's only if I WANT to take the week off, which I don't! This story is a lot of fun to write, why would I want to take a week off from it? Well anyway, where are we in the Yibirth Macisto Timeline? *Checks plot chart* Ah yes, back to Abby and his current… "mindset" under the influence of the dark sword. I won't keep you waiting, just enjoy the chapter!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 16: Monster<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>Enter Abby:<strong>_

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><p>The castle was getting closer. I could feel it. I could feel her. Even stronger still, I could feel the no good bastard that stole her from me. Hatred coursed through my veins as I thought of the scumbag that would dare do that. I gripped the handle of the sword so tight that my knuckles began turning white. I wanted… blood. I wanted to feel a body slice open against the cool blade of my sword. The Orcs were alright until I found myself slicing through hundreds without any effort. I wanted… fresh meat.<p>

Ahead I saw a platoon of wolves in soldier uniforms marching in a procession. They were carrying swords and spears with them, but they didn't seem to be marching in a violent fashion. On the contrary, it seemed to me like they were casually marching, keeping an eye out for threats.

I could feel the aura of the soldiers. It was the same as the aura of the monster that kidnapped my Daisy. The aura of being created by the same being. Under the same Master.

It was time to send that Master a message.

Holding the sword out behind me, I sprinted on foot toward the procession. It wasn't long before they noticed me and got into defensive stance. I sneered. As the soldier got close enough to swing his sword, I leapt into the air, flying over their heads and landing, sword first, on a soldier. The blade penetrated the helmet and, likewise, the skull itself.

"THOMAS!" cried out another soldier.

"GET HIM!" a third shouted. I was soon surrounded on all sides by the soldiers, but I wasn't worried in the least. Pulling the sword out of the corpse of the soldier I landed on, I swung in a circle around me. The soldiers were intelligent enough to keep their distance from the sword, but they weren't prepared when I stabbed my sword into the ground and shot out a ring of darkness from the space of air I sliced. Some acted quickly enough to raise their shields, some ducked, and some just didn't have enough time to react. The ones that ducked went unscathed, the ones that raised their shields found them warped and were knocked down, and those that couldn't react snapped like twigs, landing on the ground like ragdolls.

"Help those soldiers up!" the apparent captain barked in command. "Stay back from him, draw your bows!"

A few brave soldiers helped the shielded soldiers up while the rest ran back, pulling bows from their backs.

"Ready!" The captain raised his sword. "Aim…"

I tossed my sword to the side, cleaving the head of a soldier trying to help a wounded soldier up. Clenching my fist, I created a net around the wounded soldier and dragged him toward me along with the sword.

"FIRE!"

I grabbed the sword with my left hand and grabbed the soldier around the neck with my left. His eyes were wide with fear, but he was left mostly unharmed by the arrows, thanks to his armor. It didn't help him, though, when I impaled him on my sword and flung him toward the soldiers. The soldiers scattered from the corpse, leaving me an opportune time to dash forward toward them.

"Keep him at spear's length away!" the captain barked. The soldiers in the front were tossed spears, which they held out defensively. "Someone call for backup!"

They were still shaken from the tossed corpse, though, so it was easy for me to break through their defenses, slashing through the pathetic soldiers as they scattered in panic.

"Hold your ground!" the captain said, his voice showing he was panicking as well. "Hold you ground! We can't let this monster break through the boarder!"

I paused, slowly turning toward the captain.

"Monster?" I asked. "Oh… I think you'll find I'm much, much worse than a monster."

I dashed toward the captain, my sword held in a position to slash through him.

"Guard the captain!" a brave soldier said, running in front of me and holding out his sword. "En garde, bloodthirsty beast!"

He swung his sword at me. I slashed, meeting his blade and slicing it clean in half.

"The least you pawns could do is give me a decent challenge," I said coldly, stabbing him through the chest and slashing upward. I marched slowly toward the captain, who was holding his sword out.

"I… I won't dishonor the king!" he said shakily. "I'll fight to the death to defend the castle against you!"

"To the death?" I chuckled, sprinting forward and grabbing his throat. "No… I need you alive."

I turned my head to the other soldiers, their collective weapons drawn. "Them, on the other hand…"

"Release the Captain!" a soldier said.

"…no, thanks," I shrugged. "Tell you what though, I'll make it easy for you. I won't move from this spot."

"…really?" a soldier asked, sounding hopeful.

"Really," I answered before stabbing my sword into the ground. A black pillar of flame shot out from under that hopeful soldier, and after a moment of pained burning screaming, the fire dispelled, leaving a charred corpse in the place of that soldier.

"What did that soldier say a minute ago?" I asked mockingly. "Ah yes. En garde."

The soldiers looked between each other fearfully.

"…we are knights under the grand King!" one said hopefully. "We won't stand for this! If we are to die, let us die with honor!"

Made no difference to me. Half dashed forward with spears and swords, half stood back and used bows and arrows. Keeping my left hand around the captain's throat, I let my right arm almost act on its own free will, slashing and guarding. As the soldiers got closer, I slashed through the air and sent off a blast of black flames. As the flames shot toward the soldiers, I spun my sword around and stabbed it into the ground. The earth around me glowed and shot into the air like a wall, blocking the arrows from hitting me. With a flick of my neck, the block of earth flew down and crushed the arrow shooters that didn't dive out of the way in time.

It was around then when the spear and swordsmen closed in on me. The spearmen jabbed, but I caught the tip of their swords on the flat of my blade. The dark energy flowing through it caused the spears they were holding to be too painful to hold. As the swordsmen swung at me, I blocked their attacks, parrying with my own. Two swordsmen got the idea of using two different attacks simultaneously to knock me off, but with a single swing of my sword, both were a pair of legs, their torsos having flown across the field. Arrows flew at me, but this time, I pointed my sword at them and focused. They froze in mid-air, suspended and surrounded in an aura of darkness. With a single thought, they were off, flying into the skulls of the soldiers, hitting them in the weak spots of their armor. The few that survived that were soon a pile of corpses after the darkness that surrounded the arrows simultaneously exploded. The field was littered with corpses and blood, the only two things left alive being me and the captain.

"I think it's obvious what I can do," I sneered at the captain, throwing him to the ground. "Hurry to your precious 'King' and tell him that in an hour, I'll be heading over there to destroy everything he holds dear to him. You've seen how fast I can be too, so I suggest making the most out of that hour."

"B… but the castle's an hour's walk away!" the captain said.

"Well then you better hurry, shouldn't you?" I asked, crossing my arms. The captain quickly staggered to his feet and sprinted away toward the castle as fast as he could. I sat in my spot, brushing my finger across the bloodied blade of the sword.

"Soon…" I whispered. "He will pay… soon…"

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Oh MAN, that sword is really screwing his head up! Well anyway, have a good {insert whatever day this chapter comes out here} and, until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	17. Chapter 17: Gateway

**Author's Note: Hey there, welcome back to my story, everyone who reads this book! All… three of you. Well still, it's better than not getting any readers at all, right? Right. Well then, now we're up to Mike! Enjoy zee chapter! …also, if I ever say "zee" again, do me a favor and shoot me.**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 17: Gateway<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>Enter Mike:<strong>_

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><p>I now have a newfound respect in mountain climbers.<p>

This is one of the thoughts that ran through my head as I was climbing across the mountains, deeper into the rough terrain. My scarf, which was now just a pair of rags, I kept wrapped around my hands to prevent frostbite. The ice cold winds blew against me as I climbed from rock to rock, path to path, mountain to mountain.

"Come on…" I said to myself, keeping myself from breathing too sharply. I read something before that said if you breathe too sharply in a location with freezing air, you could freeze your lungs. Seeing as how I was already thrown in a world with monsters, I couldn't afford to hinder myself like that.

Well after a long hour of climbing and walking through the mountains, I made my way around the bend of a mountain and saw something that made me gasp:

A huge wall that looked like the inside of the black dome we were sucked into sat on a spot where the mountains ended. It rippled and shone like the surface of water, and a whole line of monsters were marching toward it.

"Oh no…" I whispered, looking at the line going toward it with wide eyes. The first thought that came to mind was "how will I get past these monsters?" But immediately afterward, another thought came: "Can I escape through this wall?"

Acting quickly, I climbed down the nearest available path and ran toward the wall of darkness, making sure I stayed a safe distance away from the monsters. It took a little bit of time, but I eventually reached the wall. Cautiously, I reached out a hand and gently touched the wall. My hand was met with some resistance, but after a moment or so, my hand phased through. I let out an involuntary gasp at how different the wall felt, pulling my hand back. I noticed, upon examining my hand, it wasn't damaged in the least.

"…" I looked up at the wall and took a breath. "Here goes nothing…"

I shut my eyes tight, took a few steps back, and sprinted into the wall, breaking through with a jump. The shocking "different" feeling that was around my hand seemed much worse when it was around my body, but it only lasted a few moments. I eventually found myself slamming onto grass, face first. I lifted my head and spat, shaking the dirt out of my face. When I finally got a bearing on where I was, my heart leapt into my throat: It was the front yard of the High School!

Climbing back to my feet, I dashed toward the School's front doors. I grabbed the handle and pulled, but it refused to budge, as if something was jammed into it.

"Huh?" I blinked, pulling again to no avail. It defiantly sounded like something was keeping the door jammed. "What's going on around… here?"

I turned around, it finally clicking how close this dome was to the school. Wait a minute though… it wasn't a dome anymore, it was a wall, erected in a circle around the area to prevent escape.

CRASH!

I whirled around to see a student falling out of a window. He was screaming, and a weird tentacle… THING was attached to his face.

"SHOOT HIM!" someone inside the school said. "SHOOT HIM!"

The student writhed as the tentacle thing completely enveloped his head, slithering down and attaching itself into his shoulders. I took a step back as the student hunched, the tentacle thing attached to its head growing a set of eyes and looking at me. It looked like a beast ready to pounce as it bent forward. I froze in place, not wanting to provoke it into attacking. A tense moment passed, and suddenly, the BANG of a gun being fired came from the school. The head of the mutated creature exploded, and it dropped to the ground as a corpse.

"That IDIOT!" Sue's voice said from inside. "I told him NOT to go into the locker room by himself! But he didn't listen!"

"…Sue?" I asked, running toward the broken window. "Guys!"

"Mike?" various voices asked. Standing on the other side of the window was Sue, a few Seniors, one of which was holding a shotgun, and McCain was sitting in the back, leaning against the wall and holding napkins against what looked like a gash in his side.

"It IS Mike!" Sue said happily, helping me in through the broken window. "Oh my God, what happened? We saw you guys get sucked into the dome, I didn't think…"

"I'm fine," I said, holding up my hands. "Really, just… cold. But what happened here?"

"The Dome isn't a dome anymore, that's what happened," McCain said, shakily standing up. "It turned into a wall surrounding us, as you've already seen. Monsters started coming out of them, we've been fighting against them and defending this school for the past hour… God…"

"What happened to you?" I asked, noticing the napkins pressed against his side growing more red and moist.

"Monster," McCain said dismissively. "I wasn't paying attention and…"

"Oh… McCain, you don't look so good," Sue said, seeming to fully notice his condition for the first time. McCain was silent for a minute, growing increasingly pale.

"Do you want me to tell you what you want to hear, or the truth?" he finally asked.

"Truth," Sue answered without hesitation.

"I'm not doing… so well…" McCain said, his knees buckling as he fell forward. Sue ran forward and grabbed him before he hit the ground.

"We NEED medical supplies!" she said, worry etched on her face.

"Just take him to the Nurse's office, it's bound to have plenty of emergency equipment," I said, breaking into a cold sweat as I looked at McCain. It wasn't the wound itself that bothered me-it did bother me, but that wasn't what really caused panic. What REALLY caused panic was the fact that this was just an example of the Hell that our school was turning into.

"There's going to be a problem with that," a nearby Senior said. "The Nurse's office, and the entire other side of the school, has been boarded and cut off. It's infested to the brim with Monsters."

"…then let's go!" Sue said, determination etched on her face. "We'll fight our way through those Monsters!"

"But didn't you say-" started a student.

"I DON'T GIVE A FLYING FUCK WHAT I SAID, WE NEED TO GET TO THAT OFFICE!" Sue snapped, sending a silence across the group.

"But… you're our leader," the same student said meekly. "What will we do if you don't make it back?"

"…" Sue said nothing to this. Her head slowly turned to me.

"…Mike," she said. "Please. I don't know who else to turn to."

"I… but…" I stammered, surprised. "I've… I haven't fought any of these monsters before. I don't even have a weapon!"

"You do now," a Senior said, handing me a shotgun.

"…how do I use this thing?" I asked, trying to hold it in pretend aim. The same Senior helped position the gun properly in my hands.

"My Dad takes me hunting every summer in the mountains," he said. "Don't worry, I can teach you."

"And you won't go in alone," Sue said, seeming to finally get a grip on herself. "I know at least one other person who's more than willing to go in with you."

"Really?" I blinked in surprise. "Who?"

"I'll give you a hint: She knows Paulo," Sue answered.

"You mean…" I started.

* * *

><p>"You ready?" Jasmine asked, strapping a quiver to her back as she held her bow in her hand.<p>

"…yeah," I nodded, having expected to go in with Tess. "Quick question though. How-"

"Archery practice," Jasmine replied before I could finish my sentence. "For the first time in my life, I'm glad I've been taking so many extra-curricular activities."

"And… where did all these guns come from?" I asked, looking down at the shotgun in my hands.

"I'm really not sure, I think they said they found a cellar full of them?" Jasmine shrugged as a pair of students pried the door to the "condemned" hall open.

"We'll stand guard," one of them said. "Hurry back though, I really don't want to keep this thing open any longer than I have to."

"And try not to get one of those tentacle things stuck on your head, alright?" the other said as Jasmine and I crawled through the small opening they pried open.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep this guy from killing himself," smirked Jasmine.

"Hey!" I protested. Jasmine snickered as we walked down the hallway. It was silent, dark, and a mess. Lockers were torn off the walls, doors were shattered into splinters, and I could see the lifeless arms and legs of students I used to go to class with sticking out of piles of rubble or classrooms.

"What in the world happened here?" I whispered.

"A really BIG fight," Jasmine whispered back. "Like, scary big. All these Monsters just piled in from the back entrance, and we tried to fight them back. We couldn't keep them all away, so we boarded up this part of the school and kept them from coming over to the safe part."

"How long has this been going on?" I asked.

"About… well the Monsters have been coming for an hour now, but the dome turned into a wall three hours ago," Jasmine said, making me stop in my tracks.

"…are you SURE it's been three hours?" I asked.

"Yeah…?" Jasmine nodded.

"But… I was only sucked into the dome TWO hours ago," I said, thinking.

"…did you travel through time in that dome?" Jasmine suggested.

"At this point," I shook my head, "it wouldn't surprise me."

A creepy dragging noise came from down the hall.

"Oh God…" Jasmine gulped, looking around. "Quick, into this classroom!"

She grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the room, ducking under the overturned teacher's desk. I looked around for cover before diving under the classroom door, which was broken off the frame. I sat there in silence, trying to make my breathing as quiet as possible. The dragging sound grew louder and louder, until the creature that was dragging it came into the classroom.

For a minute, I'm not ashamed to say I was afraid that Pyramid Head would march into the room. However, what actually did march into the room turned out to be a robed, humanoid creature. I couldn't see the face, but the tail of its robe was made of razor-sharp metal, hence the dragging noise. From my hiding spot, I could see the creature slowly look across the room, then hone in on the teacher's desk. It stood there for a minute before slowly creeping toward it, and consequently Jasmine. Grabbing the shotgun tight in my hands, I slid out from under the door as quietly as possible, aiming at the creature's head. It turned around at the noise I made AS I pulled the trigger.

BAM!

The force of the recoil knocked me on my rear, but I could also hear the monster shriek in pain and drop to the ground. When I looked back up, I saw the corpse of the monster slowly have the color drain from it and break apart into paper.

"…huh?" I asked, crawling toward the paper and picking up a sheet. "These things… turn into paper?"

"Yeah, weird huh?" Jasmine asked, peeking her head over the desk. She was shaking, but physically fine. "Thanks for that, by the way. I don't think I could have taken that thing if it was focused on me."

"It's alright," I said, shaking myself but turning to the door. "This is… Math, so the Nurse's office shouldn't be far away."

The two of us walked down the hall, more quickly this time than before, and we were soon at the Nurse's office, which was also at the untouched end of the hall. Once we were both in, I closed and locked the door, holding a chair at the doorknob just in case.

"…really?" Jasmine asked. "A CHAIR? Mike, these things are as strong as the Hulk, I don't think a chair could stop them."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," I said, turning to the shelves. "If we hurry though, we won't have to worry about monsters barging in."

"Right," nodded Jasmine, pulling the bed sheets off a nearby bed and making it into a makeshift sack to keep the stuff we were grabbing in. We grabbed everything we could find that seemed like we would need: Painkillers, syringes, gauze, stuff like that.

"I think this is everything," Jasmine said as I tied the sheet closed. "Let's hurry back before the Monsters decide to swarm in."

"Right," I nodded, opening the door and looking down the hallway…

…to see it flooded with the corpses of the students that fell in this hallway, their heads covered with those tentacle things. I stared at them for a minute before slowly closing the door and turning back to Jasmine.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Zombies," I gulped. "Those tentacle things have control over their corpses."

"Oh great," groaned Jasmine. "Not only do we have to face an apocalypse, now we're going up against a ZOMBIE apocalypse."

"So how are we going to bring these medical supplies back to the safe area of the school without being ripped to shreds by those… walking… corpses…" I slowed to a stop as my eyes landed on the bed. "…those are on wheels, right?"

Jasmine grabbed the bed and dragged it. The wheels squeaked as it easily slid across the floor. "Yeah?"

"…how well is your aim?" I asked, walking up to the bed and grabbing it.

* * *

><p>The Zombies slowly marched across the hallway, looking around with the eyes on the tentacle attached to the head. Suddenly, the door to the Nurse's office crashed open. The Zombies turned their heads to face us just as we ran out with the bed. I was pushing the bed, and Jasmine sat on it with her bow and arrows ready and the medical supplies next to her. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, which was pretty darn fast. The Zombies ran toward us, but Jasmine managed to keep the majority of them away with clean shots to the head with arrows. Those she missed I could easily maneuver around and outrun. The adrenaline of the monsters chasing us and trying to maul us pumped through my body, pushing myself beyond any limit that I've ever gone through before.<p>

"THERE'S THE OPENING!" Jasmine shouted. "AND I'M OUT OF ARROWS!"

The soldiers tore the door open more and more so we could fit through with the bed. I put on a final burst of speed and made it through the opening, pulling the bed to a stop. The sound of shotguns firing let me know that the Zombies were being fought back, and the sound of hammers on wood let me know they were boarding the entrance up again.

"…we're ALIVE!" Jasmine laughed, jumping off the bed as I leaned against the wall and gasped for air. "Here, someone take this to McCain!"

A Junior took the bag and ran to the room McCain was in as I slowly stood up, panting.

"…Mike?" Jasmine asked.

"Yeah?" I panted, turning to her.

"I didn't ask before, but… is Paulo alright?" she asked, for the first time sounding honestly concerned.

"…I don't know," I shook my head. "All I know is that he, along with everyone else, is inside that world."

"…I'm going in after him," she said. "The wall can have Monsters come out, so it should let me go in, right?"

"What?" I blinked. "But… Jasmine, they need you here!"

"I want to save Paulo!" Jasmine said. "I can't just stand by and think that he could be in the hell of a world that these Monsters come from!"

"Well…" I took a deep breath. "What if I could take him out?"

"…you'd do that?" asked Jasmine. "Really?"

"I know how to get in and get out," I replied. "Plus, I have a weapon now."

I held up the shotgun.

"I'll go in, find Paulo, and take him back here for you," I said. "Alright?"

"…" Jasmine said nothing.

"…Jasmine?" I asked. She suddenly wrapped her arms around me.

"Thank you…" she said, letting go. "I'll… I'll keep everyone's attention so they won't notice you slipping back into the wall. I know Sue would be totally against it."

"Alright," I nodded, walking back to the broken window. "I'll see you… in a few hours."

"Good luck!" Jasmine waved after me, running to distract everyone.

The broken window was already boarded up, but someone left a crowbar nearby, so one quick pull later I was outside. I ran to and looked up at the black wall surrounding the school. Taking a deep breath and holding onto the wall, I sprinted through, my eyes closed.

The "different" feeling enveloped me as I re-entered the gateway between the real world and the other world.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Ooh, looks like we've caught a sneak-peek ahead of time in the "School" side-ark, huh? Well next chapter will be back with Paulo and Dave, and until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	18. Chapter 18: The Red Orb

**Author's Note: Welcome back, everyone! Time to get back to the chapter with Paulo, Dave, and a Volcano! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 18: The Red Orb<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Paulo:<strong>_

* * *

><p>Sometimes, I really, REALLY hate that idiot. Do you know WHY I hate him sometimes? Well, I was crawling against a wall, pressing myself as close as possible so I wouldn't misstep and fall into the lava below, all so I could chase him down and pull him out before he killed himself.<p>

TAKE A FUCKING GUESS.

Well anyway, after crossing that pit of lava, I turned to see the cave forked into two paths. The left path led straight down into a lava pit, and the right path led up to the surface.

"…" I looked down both paths, then I faced up and pressed my hands together.

"God?" I asked the sky. "It's me. I don't know if you can hear me here in this weird fantasy world, but if you can hear me, could you PLEASE do me a favor and make it so Dave took the path to the surface?"

"IT'S HOT IN HERE!" Dave's voice echoed from the path that dropped into the lava. "AND I LOST THE SHINY! HALP! HAAAAAAALP!"

"…" I looked at the cave that dipped into the lava, then back up.

"This is payback for those two girls I had sex with, isn't it?" I asked. After a moment, I sighed and slid down the cave that dropped into the lava. Before I tipped over, I grabbed a rock sticking out of the side of the wall and looked down.

The pit dropped for at least a hundred meters, lava bubbling below it. Dave was about halfway down, hanging onto a rock. When he heard me approach, he looked up and smiled.

"Hi Paulo!" he said. "How's it going up there?"

"…fine," I said, forcing myself not to panic. "Hey, uh… how good is your grip down there?"

"My grip?" he asked. "Let me check…"

He leaned his feet against the wall and pulled as hard as he could on the rock he was holding onto. I winced as I watched him do this, then swing back and forth.

"DAVE!" I shouted. "CUT THAT OUT!"

"Geeze," said Dave, rolling his eyes as he stopped moving around like that. "First you ask how firm the grip is, then you tell me to stop? Make up your mind!"

I felt like strangling something.

"Just… look, can you climb up high enough for me to pull you out?" I asked.

"Maybe," Dave casually shrugged. "Let's see!"

He slowly started climbing up, grabbing hold after hold. I stretched my arm as far as possible, holding out my hand and ready to grab his hand.

A horrible feeling went through my gut as the rock I was holding onto slid out of the wall a little bit. I could feel it getting looser.

"Hey, I made it!" Dave said, grabbing my hand.

"DAVE, WAIT-" I started, but it was too late. He tried to pull himself up, which was the last thing that loose rock needed before it was pulled out of the wall, sending both of us crashing down toward the lava. I screamed and shut my eyes, bracing myself to be surrounded by molten hot lava…

…but it never came.

"Huh…?" I opened my eyes, looking around. I was still falling with David, and when I looked up, I saw the "underside" of the surface of lava, like a hologram was all that was sitting there.

"That wasn't real Lava…?" I spun around and looked at the near bottomless pit that expanded below us.

"Oh, I get it!" Dave said. "That was an illusion created by the guardian of the Volcano to protect its greatest treasure! We're going to find TREASURE! Hurray!"

I was about to say something when the deep tunnel we were falling down sloped, turning into a slide. Dave was lucky enough to position himself so he landed and slid on his ass, while I was stuck sliding on my front. I didn't see what was happening, but I could feel the slide twist, turn, and even fling me into the air before dropping me on another slide. Eventually, we reached a point where the slide flung us up into the air, and as I flipped, I saw the hard ground approaching. My eyes widening, I tried to curl myself so I would roll when I landed, and to my defense, it kind of worked. I didn't escape all pain, however, because Dave landed ON me.

"…that was fun!" Dave laughed. "Let's go again!"

"Dave…" I moaned. "Get… off…"

"Aw, okay," sighed Dave, standing up on me. "…hey, look at that!"

He jumped off me, crushing his feet into my body as he did so. I coughed a bit before forcing myself up and shaking my head, turning to see Dave running to a basketball sized red gem on a pillar in the center of the huge room we landed in.

"Hey… Dave!" I called after him, standing up. "Wait! That could be a trap!"

"Oh come on, don't be silly!" Dave replied, turning to me and rolling his eyes. "It's just a pretty, ancient artifact, sitting in the middle of an abandoned chamber with no obvious defenses around it at all! What are the chances it'll be booby trapped?"

"Dave, DAVE STOP!" I shouted, running after him. I was too late though; Dave pulled the gem off the pillar, looking at it shine in the light. I jumped to the ground, covering my head and preparing myself for the cave to collapse or something.

After a few moments, I slowly lifted my head, looking around. Nothing was falling or collapsing or sending a giant monster after us or anything.

"…huh," I said, standing up. "So it wasn't trapped after all…"

"Told you." Dave stuck his tongue out at me.

"Alright…" I looked around the chamber. "Now… how do we get out of here?"

"Well…" Dave thought, straining his single digit IQ of a brain. "We got here by sliding down from over there…"

He pointed to the slide.

"The opposite of down is up… and the opposite of in is out…" he muttered. "So… we can get out if we do the opposite of how we got in here! Go to the other side of the chamber and climb UP!"

"…alright," I finally said, crossing my arms. "WHAT do we use to climb?"

"I don't know…" Dave scratched his chin in thought. "What do YOU think?"

"Well," the Dragon Dave turned to said, "you could always find some footholds caused by imperfections in the wall, and-"

"AUGH!" I screamed, jumping away. "A DRAGON!"

The Dragon sighed, shaking its head.

"Yes," it said, "I'm a Dragon. Those people up on the surface call me the Lava God, though. Flattering, really, being called a God."

"You're a very nice dragon!" Dave said, petting its leg.

"Well," the Dragon chuckled, "just because you're a giant, earth-shattering creature doesn't mean you can't practice proper manners."

"So…" I slowly approached. "Does this mean… you're NOT going to tear us to shreds?"

"Well of course I have to!" laughed the Dragon, making me back up again. "Nothing personal, really. It's just… well, I'm the guardian of that gem your friend is holding, and I can't just let you leave with it alive. So, it's your call. Put the gem back, and I'll direct you to the exit. Or, if you'd rather, you can keep the gem and I'll turn you both into a pair of charred corpses. Feel free to take all the time you'd like to decide."

It sat down and watched us with its huge eyes, waiting for us to make a decision.

"…Dave?" I said, turning to my friend. "Put. The orb. Back."

"Aw, do I have to?" whined Dave.

"YES!" I screamed. "IF YOU DON'T, THAT DRAGON OVER THERE WILL EAT US!"

"I'm actually a vegetarian, but I understand the confusion," the Dragon added.

"Well… what if we beat you in a fight?" Dave asked.

"Beat me?" the Dragon blinked, thinking. "Huh… I don't think anyone's really ever asked me that before… Well, I suppose if you defeat me in battle, I'd have no choice but to let you go with the gem."

"Okay!" smiled Dave. "In that case-"

"We'll just be putting that gem back and heading off," I said, running to Dave and snatching the gem away.

"But Paulo, I've always wanted to fight a Dragon!" Dave said, snatching the gem back.

"Are you CRAZY?" I asked, taking the gem. "…on second thought, don't answer that question."

"We can beat it!" Dave said, taking the Gem.

"No, we CAN'T!" I snapped, taking the gem.

"But there's two of us and one of it!" Snatch.

"Yeah, but I could beat two ants any day!" Snatch.

"But we're bigger than ants!" Snatch.

"THAT DRAGON IS STILL BIGGER THAN US!" Snatch.

"May I interrupt?" the Dragon asked.

"NO!" we both shouted. It sighed as the two of us went back to arguing.

"Well…" the Dragon said to itself. "This can't go on for much longer, can it?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Half an hour later…<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Stop taking it from me!" Dave took the gem again.<p>

"I wouldn't have to if you just put it back!" I said, taking the gem. Dave, in turn, slapped me across the face, taking the gem.

"…did you just SLAP me?" I asked him.

"That's right, bitch!" Dave said in his best pimp voice. "Now, are you going to do what I SAY, or do I have to teach you another lesson?"

"Why you little…" I growled, taking a step toward him.

"Alright," the Dragon said, putting a claw between us. "That's as far as I let it go."

"I win!" Dave cheered.

"YOU IDIOT, THAT MEANS WE'RE GOING TO BE KILLED!" I screamed at him.

"No, it doesn't," the Dragon said. "After watching you two for the last thirty minutes, I realized something."

"What's that?" Dave asked curiously. The Dragon turned to me.

"Being with this idiot is a worse fate than anything I could ever do to you," it said. "So, as punishment as guardian of this gem, I'll let you keep the gem, but…"

His eyes flashed, and a rope appeared between Dave and me before vanishing.

"…you'll be stuck together," the Dragon finished, "forced to stay within one hundred feet of each other."

"…WHAT." I stared at him.

"Hurray!" Dave said, jumping over the Dragon's claw and hugging me. "Now we're going to be together forever! And ever! And ever!"

"Can't you give me a more merciful punishment?" I begged the Dragon. "You know, like leaving me alone in a room to starve to death as you slowly drip lava to burn me enough to cause me pain, but not enough to kill me?"

"Terribly sorry, but no," the Dragon shook its head before grabbing us both in its claw, flying up. I was stunned partly from knowing I was stuck with Dave and partly because of how fast we took off, so I didn't really notice where or how the Dragon flew, and only really came to my senses once it touched down outside the volcano and onto cool grass.

"Again, I'm sorry I had to punish you like this," the Dragon said as it let go of us. "I wish you the best of luck on your travels!"

With that, it flew back into the mouth of the volcano, leaving Dave and me alone with the gem.

"…so where next, Paulo?" Dave asked, turning to me and hugging the gem to his chest.

"…" Saying nothing, I curled up in fetal position and rocked back and forth on the grass, crying silently.

"Paulo?" asked Dave, kneeling down and poking me. "Paulo? …I think he's broken."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Oh boy, this is going to be… "interesting" for Paulo, huh? Well, until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>

**PS: MINECON WOO!**


	19. Chapter 19: The School, Hour 2

**Author's Note: ...can't think of anything to put here. Just imagine I put something cool here, please.**

_**Chapter 19: The School, Hour 2**_

_**Enter McCain:**_

"Alright…" Sue was speaking to a group as I walked back into the school. "How much food do we have in storage?"

"Enough to keep us for at least a few days," a sophomore answered.

"Good," Sue nodded. "So…"

She paused, sniffing.

"Oh GOD!" she covered her nose. "What's that awful stench?"

"That would be me," I answered. Sue turned around to look at me face-to-face.

"McCain!" she said happily. "Oh thank God you're… OH!"

She backed up and nearly gagged, the students nearby looking similar.

"No offence, but… you smell like shit!" she said. "What happened, did you fall into the water?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Listen, while I was down there, a Monster came out of the wall."

"…what?" Sue asked.

"A MONSTER came out of the black wall that's surrounding us," I specified.

"So… the wall keeps expanding underground?" Sue asked. "We can't escape that way?"

"No we can't, but that's not the point," I said. "Sue, we need to find something to defend ourselves with before-"

"Oh GREAT," moaned Sue. "There goes that method of escape…"

"What if we tried going OVER the wall?" a Freshman suggested.

"We could try that," Sue agreed. "Give me twenty minutes to gather everyone together so we can discuss it."

I sighed, shaking my head and heading to the locker room to take a shower. I should have been used to not being listened to by now.

* * *

><p>About ten minutes later, I stepped out of the shower, toweling myself dry. I fumbled for my sunglasses, finally feeling them sitting on the sink I left them on. As I pulled them back on, I heard someone move behind me.<p>

"Who's there?" I asked, turning to see someone hunched over a sink, facing me.

"…sorry," the guy said, stepping away from the sink. "I didn't know you were here…"

"It's alright," I told him, wrapping the towel around my waist. "Are you alright? You don't look so good."

"Just…" the guy sighed, leaning against and sliding down the wall. "You ever get that… just, a feeling that something REALLY bad is about to happen?"

"Sometimes," I admitted, picking up a spare set of clothes that I grabbed from my locker before I came to get a shower. "And you're getting that feeling now, I can assume?"

"Mm-hm," he nodded. "I just wish I had, like… a weapon, or something. But come on, where are we supposed to find weapons in a school?"

"Well…" a voice from a stall nearby said. "I have heard tales of the crazy janitor that stayed in the basement of the school."

The two of us turned to the stall, curious.

"…go on," the guy urged.

"The tale goes that this guy was an old war veteran," the person in the stall continued. "No one really knows what he saw or did, but when he came back, he was really suspicious of everyone. So, he built a little weapon room in the old bomb shelter in the basement of the school."

"…if the school knew there's a room full of weapons in the basement of the school," I said, "wouldn't they have gotten rid of it all by now?"

"That's the thing, though!" the person in the stall replied. "About a year after the crazy old janitor died, the school had to condemn the whole section of the basement that had the bomb shelter. Nobody's even set foot in that room, sense!"

"Alright… how long ago had this supposedly happened?" I asked.

"About… three or four years," the voice replied. The guy and I looked at each other.

"Could regular guns still work after being left alone for a few years?" he asked.

"From what I've read, some muskets from the Civil War still work today," I replied. "I don't think we'd have much of a problem."

"Wait, you guys are actually going down there?" the voice in the stall asked. "I'm pretty sure that part of the basement was condemned for a reason!"

"We don't really have a choice," the guy said. "What if something worse than that wall comes around?"

"Wall?" the voice in the stall asked. "What wall?"

"…the giant black wall that's surrounding the school," I said. "Didn't you hear all the panic that went through the school?"

"Huh? Oh, no," the voice replied. "I'm just waiting here until Literature class is over. I didn't study for the test, and I need more time!"

"…should we tell him?" the guy whispered to me.

"…listen," I said to the person in the stall. "We're having some… emergency drills today."

"Emergency drills?" the voice asked.

"Uh, yeah!" the guy added, catching on. "So, until we move to the… um…"

"Earthquake drill," I said for him, "you should wait here. Okay?"

"Alright!" the person in the stall said. "Don't worry, my iPod will keep me company!"

"Good," I nodded, stepping away.

"Emergency drills… huh!" the voice said as we left. "I could have stayed in class after all!"

* * *

><p>"Nice Crowbar skills, Dr. Freeman," the guy said as I, fully dressed now, pulled at the wooden boards that blocked the way to the condemned area of the basement.<p>

"…you never told me your name," I said.

"Oh, right," the guy said. "Sorry, always forget that. I'm Thomas, Tom for short. You?"

"Everyone just calls me McCain," I answered, and with a final tug, the last wooden plank was out of the wall. "Got those masks from Chemistry?"

"Yeah," Tom nodded, tossing me a dust mask. I put it on and he did the same, and together, we crawled through the opening and into the part of the school that hadn't been touched in years.

"It's kind of creepy down here," Tom said as I turned the flashlight I took with me on. "I keep expecting to see something jump out at me."

"I wouldn't voice my thoughts like that so loud if I were you," I told him.

"Why not?" Tom asked. "It's not like we're in some kind of horror movie, right?"

"No," I agreed, "but nothing else that's happening today would ever happen in real life, so we should just play safe."

"Oh… right," Tom nodded. A few minutes later, we came to a thick door with a padlock on a chain, keeping the door shut.

"Hold this," I told Tom, giving him the flashlight. He held it steady on the padlock as I slipped the crowbar through the chains the padlock was connected to. I twisted the chains, turning the crowbar again and again until the chains couldn't twist any more.

"You may want to step back," I said as I pressed the crowbar against the door, planted my feet on it, and pulled with all my might. Tom took my advice and stepped away, and a minute of straining and pulling later, the chain broke open, sending the chains flying and landing me on my rear.

"You okay?" asked Tom, offering a hand to help me up. I held up my hand and picked myself up.

"I'm fine," I replied. "Let's just hope there's something in here that's worth that effort."

The door didn't easily come open, but with a bit of pulling, the door came open. On the other side, shelves full of every gun you could imagine lined the walls. There were crates full of bullets in the corners, cleaning equipment on the far wall, and so on.

"Huh…" I said. "So the story was true, after all."

"Come on!" Tom said, filling his arms with shotguns. "Let's take these back upstairs!"

"Do you even know how to use those?" I asked him.

"What's there to know?" Tom asked, holding up a shotgun and aiming it at a wall. "You just click this… thing up here, point at what you don't like, pull the trigger and-"

BANG!

Multiple holes appeared in the wall as Tom landed on the ground.

"…ow," he said, getting up and shaking his head. "Okay, so I don't totally know how to use this…"

"Hopefully someone has hunted before and know how to use these," I said, taking a crate of ammo. "Maybe they'll teach us."

Lugging the guns and ammo with us, we headed back upstairs.

* * *

><p>"So could it really get airborne?" Sue asked, looking at a diagram of what looked like a miniature air plane as Tom and I came behind her.<p>

"It would take a few days to build, and it could only fit one," a Senior replied. "But if that one person called for help… uh…"

"What?" Sue asked, turning around to see us lugging the weapons. "McCain? Where in the world did you get all those guns from?"

"Downstairs," I answered as Tom dropped them on a nearby table.

"They keep guns in a school?" Sue asked, gently picking up one and looking it over. "Why did you get these, anyway?"

"If you had listened to me earlier you would have known," I replied, crossing my arms.

"You can't blame me for not listening to you!" Sue defended. "Nobody listens to you!"

"…noted," I finally said. "What I said was that a monster came out of that wall in the sewers, and they may start coming out above ground, too."

"Monster?" asked Sue. "Really?"

"A… monster?" asked Tom. "You never mentioned Monsters!"

"Wait…" Sue held up her hands. "Maybe it was just in the sewers? Maybe they won't come above ground?"

Suddenly, a spike shot through a window and skewered a nearby student, pulling him back through the window. We all stared at the spot for a minute, in silent shock.

"…I HIGHLY suggest we all get a gun," I said, picking up one of them off the table as I tried to control my breathing. Panicking wouldn't get anyone anywhere, but my body didn't agree with me at the moment. It was then a loud CRASH came from somewhere else in the school. We could hear students screaming.

"…WITH ME!" Sue finally said, running toward that area of the school. I ran after her, Tom following behind me. We ran all the way to a hallway leading into the west wing of the school, and in it, strange monsters were running amok, attacking students, ripping lockers off walls and tearing down doors.

"YOU!" Sue barked at a few of the students that brought guns, her brain going into commando mode. "GO IN THERE AND BRING BACK AS MANY STUDENTS AS YOU CAN! YOU!" At this she pointed at a few of the more muscular students. "GATHER THINGS TO WORK AS A BARRICADE! YOU!" she pointed at the last of us that had guns, mainly me and Tom. "STAY AT THE DOORWAY AND KEEP ANY MONSTERS AWAY! GO GO GO!"

We took our positions, ready to do as Sue just said.

"Wait a minute!" Tom said as he kneeled near the doorway on the other side as me. "We still don't know how to use these!"

A spider-like creature ran toward us. A Senior nearby slid by us, snatched Tom's shotgun, and managed to expertly shoot it in the head, causing it to scream and fall down, collapsing into paper.

"Here," the senior said, cocking the shotgun. "Pay attention…"

He showed us VERY quickly how to aim and fire. I paid close attention to the actions, and soon I was firing at the monsters that were coming close. We managed to turn the monsters that were running towards us to paper with single shots to the head, but we were very soon out of ammo.

"I'M OUT!" Tom said. I stood up, pulled out my Crowbar, and slammed it as hard as I could into the head of a gigantic lizard creature. Its skull crushed, and the body collapsed into paper.

"Get more ammo, I'll stay here!" I told him, holding my position with the crowbar. Tom ran back to the ammo crate, and I simply used the Crowbar to cave in the skulls of the monsters that passed. They seemed to be more interested in passing through deeper into the school than attacking me, so it was fairly simple to just wedge it in them and let their own momentum slay them.

"COMING THROUGH!" a voice shouted. A Junior was standing in the back of a group, firing at monsters that were running at him as a group of five or so students sprinted through the doorway.

"Hurry!" I shouted to him. He fired one last time before turning around and running through the doorway. The monster, which looked like a slim horse with spiked horns or something similar, rose on its hind legs and ran at me. I held out my crowbar, but the monster swerved around and slammed into me, knocking me down. It rose on its hind legs, ready to squish me…

BANG!

The horse exploded into paper. I turned around to see Tom lowering his shotgun, a case of bullets at his feet.

"Came just in time, didn't I?" he asked, sliding in place next to the door. I nodded and stood to get back in my spot, but winced as soon as I took a step. I looked down at my side to see blood starting to pool at my side.

"Cover for me…" I said, stepping back. "I need to…"

Tom looked at my bloodstained shirt.

"Oh, it's fine," he said, sounding a little worried. "Go, patch yourself up."

He turned back forward and fired at the monsters coming forward as I limped to the kitchen, planning to put napkins on the wound to patch up the blood flow.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Sounding a little familiar? Well anyway, happy early Thanksgiving, I hope you stuff yourselves silly! I, personally, will be watching the Wizard of Oz with my Mom and little brother. Well that's all for now, and until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	20. Chapter 20: Power

**Author's Note: Alright everyone, we're back with Ned! To recap what's going on for all you new readers: What are you doing reading the latest chapter without reading the rest of the book? You should be ashamed of yourself! GO STAND IN THE CORNER! …well, now that Mr. Impatient is standing over there, the rest of you can enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 20: Power<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Ned:<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Hm…" I looked down at the table in front of me, thinking my hardest.<p>

"Your Majesty-" started a soldier.

"Nono," I held up my hand. "I appreciate the offer, but I have to do this myself…"

After much thought, I slowly brought my hand down to strategically…

…move the black three on the red four, flipping over the card under it.

"Sweet, an Ace!" I said cheerfully, moving it to the top. "Solitaire, prepare to be conquered!"

It was about then the doors crashed open. We all turned our heads to see a beat up soldier run in, panting and looking like he was ready to collapse from exhaustion.

"Oh God!" I said, standing up. "Quick, bring the Healers!"

A few of the soldiers ran off to get the Healers while I and a few others ran to the soldier, holding his arms to keep him upright.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"N… no, my lord…" he coughed. "Monster… coming here…"

"Monster?" I asked. "What kind? Was it big?"

"No…" the soldier shook his head. "It was… a teenager…"

"…a Teenager?" I asked. "Are you… feeling alright?"

"I swear, I saw him with my own two eyes!" he said in fear. "He had a massive, evil sword that granted him powers beyond any I've ever seen before in my life!"

"Evil sword?" I asked. "You don't mean… the Sword of Darkness?"

"Sword of… my lord?" the soldier asked, confused.

"…nothing," I said as the Healers arrived. "Help this soldier, I want him good as new."

"Yes my lord!" the Healers bowed, picking up the soldier.

"Wait!" the soldier said. "The Monster, he said he would wait an hour before coming this way!"

The blood drained from my face. Someone with the Sword of Darkness was coming to my castle? And hurting my people?

"How long ago did he say this?" I asked urgently.

"I ran as fast as I could… I think…" the soldier thought for a minute, then his own face paled. "…an hour ago."

We all stood there in silence for a minute. The silence was soon broken, however, by the sound of a massive explosion outside, followed by the screams of people. I ran to the window and looked down to see a dark dot leisurely walking through town and destroying everything in its path.

"Oh…" I stepped away from the window, feeling sick to my stomach.

"My lord!" a nearby soldier said, holding his spear tightly and facing me with loyalty. "What shall we do?"

As I looked between all the soldiers, it finally hit me. I was the king, it was up to me to keep everyone safe. I mean, sure, I knew that earlier, but it was just now that it hit me with full force. Something really big and really destructive was coming this way to destroy everything, and I was the one everyone looked up to in hopes of overcoming it.

That was more terrifying than the scariest thing I'd ever seen before in my life.

Still… I wanted to be king. I made the world. I had to be strong for everyone else.

"…set up a safe zone in the basement of the castle!" I finally said. "Get as many soldiers out there as you can and bring back every civilian possible!"

"Yes your majesty!" the soldiers saluted, running off to do as told. As they ran off to do that, I ran up into my room, where Daisy was sitting next to a pile of books she wanted to read from the library. I could see one of them she just dropped when she heard all the commotion.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Is everyone alright?"

"I hope so…" I said, running to the closet and tapping the wall. It glowed magically, opening up the storeroom where I kept all the good magical weapons.

"My Lord?" Daisy followed me as I ran deep into the room and pulled off the glowing broadsword on the far wall: The Sword of Light.

"Alright…" I said, attaching the sheath to my belt. "This should help me face off against it, and-"

Daisy put a hand on my shoulder, making me turn around.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Please my Lord, I want to know…"

I took a deep breath, taking Daisy's hand in mine.

"Something… big is outside," I told her. "Big and dangerous. If someone doesn't stop it, we won't last very long. I… I have to go and fight it myself, it's my job to protect my people."

"But what if you get hurt?" asked Daisy in concern. "My Lord, I don't want anything to happen to you…"

"Me neither," I gulped. "But I gotta do it…"

"Why you though?" Daisy asked. "Why not give the sword to your most elite soldier?"

"Because…" I sighed deeply. "Because… I can't just stand by and let someone trample over everyone under me!"

Daisy looked at me curiously. "Um… what?"

"I've been bullied all my life," I told her. "I HATE bullies. I don't… I don't want anyone else to ever have to face what I've been though! So what if that thing out there's bigger and stronger than anyone else? That doesn't give it the right to push them around!"

I turned to the door. "So I'm gonna stop it before it causes any more pain."

"Ned…" Daisy took my hand.

"Daisy, I told you, I have to-" I started, but when I turned around, Daisy TOTALLY shocked me by kissing me.

On the lips.

She… KISSED me!

On the LIPS!

A girl kissed me!

It was as good as the books made it out to be! No, it was better! A million times better! It made my chest explode with fireworks and my lips melt and oh it was so good and-

"Ned?" Daisy finally snapped me awake. "Ned?"

"Huh, what?" I blinked. "Oh… I'm sorry, just…"

Daisy giggled. "There are more where that came from when you get back," she said, winking at me. I blushed for a minute, but that was certainly enough incentive to make me rush off with a greater determination than before.

I mean, sure, before it was about stopping someone from bullying everyone, but now it's about kisses!

…yes I'm aware that I can be shallow. It was my FIRST KISS, cut me some slack! Please!

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Abby:<strong>_

* * *

><p>Pathetic, all of them. The people screamed and ran as I slowly marched through, destroying buildings with the twitch of my wrist. The funny thing was that I wasn't even TRYING to hurt anyone. All I wanted was to destroy the bastard that kidnapped my Daisy.<p>

I eventually came to a stop in the city square, looking around at the empty streets around me. Ahead was the castle, but I really didn't want to go quite that far. Not if I had to, anyway.

"King!" I barked out. "Where are you?"

Silence met my echo.

"Come out here and fight me like a Man!" I barked again. "Come now, are you just going to hide behind your creations all day?"

"No, I won't!" a voice replied, and out from the gates came the man that stole Daisy from me. Well… man wasn't quite the word. He looked like a kid grown into a teenager's body. I didn't care if he looked like an old man though, seeing him made my vision go red with rage.

"You…" I hissed, pointing my sword at him. "You… will PAY for what you've done!"

"Pay for… what?" the King asked, blinking. "I don't think we've even really met."

"Oh, playing DUMB, are we?" I asked, fury building up in me more and more.

"No, really!" the King said. "Look, maybe this is all just a case of mistaken identity. If you put the sword down, maybe we can all just talk this out and-"

"NO TALK!" I snarled, holding the sword above my head. "SLAUGHTER!"

I dashed forward at him, making him whimper and hold his sword up in defense. For the first time, my own blade was stopped by another. The King seemed as surprised as I was, but he managed to push me back and swing his sword at me. He was rusty, I could tell, but the sword was pumping skill into his mind and body. His swing, therefore, was easy to block, but the next strike came surprisingly fast. I ducked under his swing and sliced upwards, but he managed to roll to the side and point his sword at me, charging light up at the tip.

"Holy Blast!" he cried out as a wave of light shot out toward me. I jammed my sword into the ground, shooting up a wall of darkness, but the light blasted right on through and struck me, knocking me back onto my back. The light burned my skin, especially the palm of the hand that was holding the sword.

"…hey, it worked!" the King said cheerfully, looking at the sword in his hand. I snarled deeply, catching his attention.

"You thought THAT was impressive, huh?" I asked. "You thought it would be that easy to beat me?"

"…well, I was kind of hoping-" he started.

"Well I'll let you in on something, boy…" The sword glowed with a deep, dark aura that almost hurt ME. The aura surrounded me in it, and I was soon floating above the ground, staring the King down. "You haven't seen the worst yet. Not by a long shot."

I swiped my sword down, shooting a wall of black flames down at him.

"EEP!" the King rolled out of the way, the black flames blasting into the ground. With a twitch of my head, the fire formed into a spider that chased after the King. He turned around and stood his ground, holding up his sword defensively. The Spider shot down a sharp leg of fire at him, which the King blocked with the flat of his blade. He ran up and sliced upward through the spider, slicing it clean in half and causing the fire to explode, vanishing into the air.

"Ha!" Ned swung his sword, turning back to me. "Looks like I could handle it after…"

He saw I wasn't floating there anymore.

"…huh?" he blinked, looking around. I, who had snuck around while he was fighting the spider, grabbed him from behind, putting my sword to his throat as I floated an inch above the ground.

"You know something?" I sneered, pressing the sword against his throat and letting the aura choke him. "I am REALLY going to enjoy this."

I was about to send off a blast that would rip him to pieces when I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, knocking me out.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Ned:<strong>_

* * *

><p>We both fell to the ground, I panting heavily.<p>

"Wha…" I coughed as I pushed myself up, turning around to see the unconscious teenager at the feet of Daisy, brandishing the Yibirth Macisto.

"Are you okay?" she asked, running to me and helping me to my feet.

"Yeah… I'm fine…" I panted, nodding. "Thank you…"

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright," Daisy said, hugging me. I hugged her back, looking at the teenager.

"Guards!" I called out. "Take him to the dungeon, but don't touch that sword!"

Guards ran out, picking up the teenager and carrying him away as a few magic users used their powers to lift the sword without touching it.

"Where should we put this?" they asked.

"In the vault," I told them. "Put it under 24/7 watch, I don't want anyone to touch it agaaaaAAAAUGH!"

I was interrupted as the cheering residents of my kingdom ran out of their safe places, lifting me above their heads.

"Three cheers for the king!" they cried out. "Hip-hip, hurray!"

As they cheered for me, I looked around, realizing that I really did save them all. I… I really WAS a hero! I laughed, holding up my arms in victory. Daisy stood by, holding the book under her arm and watching me with a smile on her face.

Right then, I was the happiest squirrel in the world.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Noted: D'aw… it's not going to last long at all. Welp, next chapter we have Lucy, so until then, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	21. Chapter 21: Lucy and the Monster

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay of chapters, I've just been a wee bit busy with revising the Sword of Dreams… and, you know, school and… Minecraft BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT. The point is, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 21: Lucy and the Monster<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Lucy:<strong>_

* * *

><p>"GYAH!" I screamed, my foot catching on a branch as I fell forward. I was in a swamp, the ground covered in shallow swampy marshes. I couldn't see anything below my ankles, so it was pretty easy for me to not see something below the marsh and trip. Thus, my current situation.<p>

"OOF!" I grunted as I slammed face first into the disgusting marshes, dropping the shell of the monster. "Ah, gross!"

I got on my knees, spitting the crap out of my mouth and rubbing my face on my shoulders.

"Alright…" I muttered as I stood up. "The next living thing I see will feel my frustration…"

As if on cue, I saw the speck that was the tiny monster run by. I stared after it for a minute, my stressed mind taking this time to register it.

"…HEY!" I screamed after it, running. "GET BACK HERE!"

The tiny creature leapt into the air in surprise before hopping away.

"ON NO YOU DON'T!" I screamed, practically skipping through the marshes to get my feet high enough and go fast enough to keep chase. "GET BACK HERE YOU SON OF A BIIIIIAAAAAAUGH!"

Something made me trip again. Only this time, it wasn't a branch…

It was an ARM.

I was slowly lifted into the air as the marsh near me rose up and took on the form of a big, blobby monster. The "eyes" were hollowed out holes, the "mouth" the same, only deeper. It consisted of just a head, which also worked as its torso, and two bulky arms, one of them currently holding onto my ankle.

"LET ME GO!" I struggled, trying to kick away from it. However, as soon as my foot made contact with the creature, it got stuck. The same thing happened to my hands when I curled up and tried to claw the arm off of my leg. The swamp monster brought me closer to its mouth, ready to devour, and then…

…it froze? I heard what sounded like a tiny projectile shoot through it, and I saw a miniscule hole in the chest of the monster. It shook, and I could hear the cracking sound of something hardening. The sludge that made up the monster hardened, cracked, then shattered, dropping me back into the swamp.

"Are you okay?" a squeaky voice asked. I shook the sludge off myself and turned, blinking at the tiny creature.

"YOU!" I said, jumping forward and cupping my hands around the creature. It squeaked in fear as I picked it up.

"WHY THE HELL DO YOU KEEP SENDING THESE MONSTERS AFTER ME?" I screamed at it. "WHERE AM I? I WANT ANSWERS, DAMMIT!"

"Please!" the creature squeaked. "Let me explain!"

"You have fifteen seconds," I growled. Suddenly, I heard stirring around us, the swamp bubbling.

"Oh, you're sending monsters after me now?" I asked, preparing to squeeze my hands and stop that monster before he did anything to me.

"I'm not sending any monsters!" the creature shouted. "Look, we have to get out of here!"

A shock made me involuntarily let go, where upon the creature dropped to the ground, hopping to stay on the surface of the swamp.

"Follow me!" it said, hopping away from the swamp monsters that were being created near us. Part of me thought he would lead me into a trap, part of me just wanted to get away from the monsters that were preparing to strike, and eventually the part of me that wanted to run won over. I struggled through the swamp, chasing after the creature and putting as much distance between me and the monsters as possible. It took a bit of time, but the two of us eventually came to an old concrete building in the center of the swamp. It had three windowed doors, and I could see that you could see into the center of the building through the one we were approaching. The small creature slammed itself against the door, causing it to fly open. I ran in after it, and the door closed behind me.

"There…" the creature sighed, hopping onto a bit of rubble. "We should be safe here…"

"I don't get it," I said, walking up to it and looking down. "One minute, you're sending monsters after me, and the next minute you're saving me from them?"

"I never sent any monsters after you!" the tiny creature said.

"Then how do you explain that snake or that… that THING back in the village?" I asked. The tiny creature was taken aback by this.

"You… you went to the cursed village?" it asked.

"Of course I did, you were there with me!" I threw my hands into the air.

"What… oh!" the tiny creature laughed. "That wasn't me! That was my twin!"

"…your twin?" I asked, not buying it.

"Yeah, my twin!" the creature nodded. "His name's Tinum. I'm Teenum, it's nice to meet you!"

"…Teenum," I repeated. "You're Teenum, and he's Tinum."

"The Creator of this world wasn't very creative," Teenum explained.

"I gathered that mu-wait a minute, creator of this world?" I asked, putting my full attention to him. "What are you talking about?"

"You're… from the outside, aren't you?" Teenum asked.

"Outside the dome? Yeah."

Teenum took a deep breath. "Go ahead and take a seat. It's kind of a long story."

"So long as I get SOME kind of fucking explanation, I don't care," I said, sitting down on some rubble. "So give. Where am I?"

"You, that is to say we, are in the Dark Swamp, West of Castle Town," Teenum said.

"I meant this whole WORLD inside this Dome," I clarified.

"Oh," Teenum nodded. "Well… it's a world of a kid's creation."

"You know," I said, "on any other day, I would think that sounds crazy."

"You see," Teenum said, "this kid used the powers of a magical book to create his own fantasy world, including the lands, the people, and even the Monsters like me."

"Is there any way out?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Well…" Teenum thought for a minute. "You said you came in here through a… dome, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "A big, black dome that sucked me in."

"Well in that case, that explains the black wall that appears in the boarders of the world," Teenum said, mainly to himself.

"…black what?" I asked, blinking.

"Black walls," repeated Teenum. "It surrounds the boarders of the world, marking the point where the kid stopped drawing."

"If I go through the walls," I said, getting excited, "could I go back to the outside world?"

"I don't see why you couldn't," Teenum said.

"Alright…" I nodded. "Just tell me how you know all this, then."

"That's how I was written," he shrugged. "See, in order to keep this world stable, he had to create equal balances of many different things. Me and Tinum are the center of that balance. You could say that together, we make the center of the world."

"Well it still makes more sense than anything else that's happened today," I said as I stood back up. "Can I… ask a favor?"

"Sure," Teenum said, jumping up onto my shoulder. "What's the favor?"

"You and Tinum are the most powerful monsters here, right?" I asked.

"Well, I wouldn't say most powerful…" Teenum said modestly.

"Whatever, do you think you can find my friends?" I asked.

"Your… friends?" Teenum tilted his tiny head.

"I came in here with five other people," I said. "Do you think you could find them and point them in the direction of the wall, so they can escape too?"

"…sure," Teenum said, grinning his tiny mouth that I had to squint to see. "I'll call Tinum and we'll both help you out!"

"Thank you," I nodded. "Now my last question. Where's the wall?"

"Not far to the west of here," answered Teenum. "Probably an hour walk at most."

"Alright." I put Teenum down and turned to the door…

…facing a skull on a black body on the other side of the window.

"AUGH!" I screamed, jumping back. "What the hell is that thing?"

"I don't know…" Teenum said shakily, jumping back onto my shoulder. "…quick! Try another exit!"

I nodded and turned, but as soon as I did, I saw the monster quickly move to the same exit that I was about to go to. Pausing, I turned to go to the third exit, but as soon as the thought crossed my mind, the Monster was already on its way there.

"Is… is that thing reading my mind?" I asked, stepping back in shock. "Teenum! Can't you do that thing you did with the swamp monsters?"

"I… I can't!" Teenum was shaking on my shoulder. "It feels like something's suppressing my powers!"

"WHAT?" I asked in panic. So there I was, stuck between a rock and a hard place as I tried to think of a way to get out of there. I was steadily getting more and more pissed, however, when I saw the monster staring at me and knew that it had total knowledge of every idea that came to my head.

"It's hopeless!" Teenum cried, breaking down. "We're doomed, doomed, doo-"

"Shut up!" I hissed, flattening my ears. "It's hard enough to think without you sobbing into me!"

"But that's just it!" Teenum said. "It doesn't matter WHAT you think, the Monster will be able to read your mind!"

"…" I turned to glare at the monster, an idea popping into my head. The Monster growled, having read my idea as soon as I thought of it.

"He can only read our minds if he sees us, right?" I asked.

"Well yeah, but…" started Tinum.

"Good," I nodded, walking up to the door and curling up just below the window, so the Monster couldn't see us. I could hear it growling as I started to do it, moving to try and see us.

"Alright…" I said, now letting myself think further ahead. Without that advantage, it was just another dumb monster, like all the others I've faced. An idea finally struck me.

"Alright Teenum…" I said in a loud whisper, making sure the Monster could hear me, "now that he can't read our minds, let's make a beeline to the North Exit. We'll make sure not to think about it when we run for it, so he can't read our minds!"

Teenum seemed confused for a minute, but it looked like he got it when we heard the Monster moving from its spot in front of the door to move to the North Exit. I counted to five, then slammed the door open, making a beeline out of there. The monster gave a horrifying shriek as it turned around, giving chase. It was a bitch to run, seeing as the swamp was knee deep around the building. I started to make headway, but soon I tripped over something under the swamp for the third fucking time that hour. I cried out as I fell, Teenum flying from my shoulder. The monster got closer, and for a minute I was terrified it was going to strike me while I was down, but instead it moved right past me and picked up Teenum with a dark tentacle growing from its back. He had already fainted by that point, absolutely terrified by everything that was happening. As good of an option as that sounded, I couldn't let myself do the same. I stood back up, grabbing the fallen tree branch under the swamp that was the cause of me tripping, and jumped at the Monster, slamming on its back.

"LET HIM GO!" I shouted as the branch broke in half. The Monster gave out a pained roar and dropped Teenum, turning around and wrapping a tentacle around my throat and lifting me in the air. I gasped and struggled, but that thing had a firm grip. It squeezed, and everything started to go black as my head grew lighter.

_No…_ I thought, my kicks growing weaker along with myself. _I can't die now… What about Daisy and Abby? And Paulo, and David… and… Mike…_

My body went limp as I fell unconscious.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter the Mind Reaper:<strong>_

* * *

><p>Girl went limp in my tentacle.<p>

…why I do that?

**I made you do it. Now get the monster, now!**

But… why?

**You're not going to question me, just go and do it!**

…no.

**What?**

No, I won't. I don't see why I should.

**For the love of…**

PAIN! Pain in head! I scream as I drop girl in swamp, kneeling over.

**I DIDN'T PLAN ALL THIS OUT FOR THE PAST THOUSAND YEARS TO LET A STUPID LITTLE MONSTER STOP ME!**

There was snap in head, and I felt myself pulled into a cage, sent deep inside myself…

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter the Yibirth Macisto:<strong>_

* * *

><p>It took a minute to adjust, but I soon saw myself looking out through the Mind Reaper's eyes. It was an interesting feeling to say the least, existing in both the monster's body and the book. I took a moment to adjust to the body, slowly lifting myself tall. I moved the tentacles around, testing out the firm grip that I could create with it on the female's unconscious torso. I grinned as I turned around and headed back to the castle, knowing full well that I could not find the creature by this point.<p>

Everything was going exactly according to plan.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Oh no, that's NEVER a good sign when someone says that! Well anyway, that's enough of that, I am again sorry for the delay, but I think you'll agree that things are picking up very soon! Until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	22. Chapter 22: Meltdown

**Author's Note: You know, funny story. As soon as I finished last chapter on Tuesday, I closed out of Word, said "Done!" victoriously… then immediately opened a new document and started on this Author's Note. WELL ANYWAY, back to the exposition between Paulo, Dave and good ol' GC! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 22: Meltdown<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Enter Paulo:<strong>_

* * *

><p>I hugged my knees to my chest as I sat on the cliff, staring at the ocean expanding before me and slamming wave after wave into the Cliffside.<p>

"…why are we here?" I asked out loud.

"Because you saw that we were near an ocean once you got back up and said you wanted to come here!" Dave said helpfully, lying on his stomach and batting the red orb back and forth.

"Not that," I shook my head. "I mean… this whole crazy world."

I leaned back on my back and stared into the sky.

"Look at us," I said. "We're two of the six kids that were sucked into a… a magical dome that connected to a fantasy land full of dragons and monsters and tribes that look like characters from a video game. I STILL don't believe in any of that, and yet here we are."

I closed my eyes, listening to the waves and splashes of the ocean. "I don't know where any of our friends are… I barely even know where WE are… and I don't even know how to get back home…"

"…c'mon Paulo, don't feel sad!" Dave said, poking my arm. "We're, like, heroes! Look, we got into a Dragon's lair and stole a magic gem! That's hero stuff!"

"I don't want to be a hero!" I said, opening my eyes and shoving him away. "I just want to go home!"

"Do you then?" a voice behind me asked. I jumped, whirling around to face a REALLY freaky looking monster, like some kind of… frog, fish, old man thing.

"What the hell are you?" I asked, backing away while my heart was beating a million times a minute.

"I believe the phrase is actually WHO the hell are you," the monster corrected. "But, no matter. I am Gl'Chyroth, prophet of the fantasy."

"Is that fantasy the FINAL one?" Dave asked, running forward and poking the fish who I am now just calling GC.

"Ah," GC said, turning to face Dave. "You must be the Chosen One."

"I'm the… Chosen One?" Dave squeaked in joy.

"Okay, hold on just one minute!" I said, holding out my arms. "Dave? The Chosen One? No offence buddy, but you're kind of the last person I'd expect to be any kind of chosen one."

"None taken!" Dave said, not really getting what I just said.

"Yes… well, I think I can understand what you're talking about," GC answered, turning to me. "If you'll just let me finish, I'm sure you'll understand."

"…go on," I encouraged.

"You see," GC said to me, as Dave was just daydreaming about being the Chosen One or something, "the prophesy states that six people will come into the world that was created by the victim."

"Whoa, whoa," I said, holding out my hands. "Slow down. What are you talking about? Created by who now?"

"The victim," repeated GC. "I'd go more into detail, but we really don't have much time."

"What do you mean we don't have much-" I started.

"The prophesy continues to say," GC interrupted, "that one will be lost in the woods and taken by the Monster, the one corrupted by the Dark Sword, the one the corrupted one tries to save, the one who's lost hope in the mountains, the one who stays with the Chosen One, and finally, the chosen one."

"Wait… Dave said a prophesy a lot like that not ten minutes before we got sucked into the dome!" I said.

"I know," GC nodded. "I spoke through him to deliver that message."

"You did what now?" I asked. "How did you…"

"He's the Chosen One," GC said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I can deliver messages through him, that's part of what makes him the Chosen One."

"So… the only thing that really makes him the big important guy is that you can talk through him?" I asked.

"…well, no," GC said. "See… remember that Monster I talked about a little bit ago?"

"Yeah."

"That monster has the ability to read minds."

"What?" My heart started to beat harder at the thought of a monster that could know what I'm thinking.

"The Chosen One is the only one who can stand a chance in a fight against this monster," GC said, nodding to Dave. "According to the prophesies, the Monster can hear the mind of anyone it looks at. He, on the other hand, has no mind to read in the first place."

"Oh come on," I said, not buying it. "Dave may not be the smartest, but he's not THAT stupid."

"Hey guys!" Dave interrupted, running forward in excitement. "Look! I can fit both my fists in my mouth!"

He made a gagging sound as he attempted to shove both of his fists in his own mouth, holding the Red Orb with his feet.

"…okay, I see your point," I told GC, turning back to him.

"Exactly," he nodded. "This kind of blank slate is the only being capable of absorbing the Orb of Power without mentally breaking down."

"…okay, repeat that last sentence again?" I asked. "Orb of Power?"

"You mean this pretty gem right here?" Dave asked, holding up the Red Orb.

"Exactly," GC nodded, standing up on legs that were way too thin to support his weight. "Chosen One… what is your name?"

"David!" Dave said cheerfully.

"Young David, hold out the orb," GC said.

"Okay!" Dave nodded cheerfully, doing as told. GC closed his eyes and lifted a single leg, which was now starting to glow. He tapped the Orb, making it shake and glow.

"That tickles!" Dave said, watching with glee as the orb absorbed itself into his body. His whole body then started to glow, growing more and more red as I could feel waves of heat come from him.

"Hey… I feel funny!" Dave said, patting his body down.

"What the…" I took a step back, turning to see GC had already run for cover.

"Hey!" I called after him. "What the hell did you do-"

A MASSIVE wave of heat shot out from Dave, setting the grass around him on fire as I was flung back.

"Huh?" Dave asked. When I finished coughing and turned around, I saw Dave's hands were on fire. His fur was a bright red, with orange streaks that reminded me of fire.

"Wow…" Dave said, looking at the fire on his hands. "This… is… AWESOME!"

"Indeed," GC said, stepping forward and nodding. He paused for a minute, turning to look at me. "Oh, your hair is on fire."

"Huh?" I blinked, touching my head to feel that it was really on fire. "GYAH!"

"So David…" GC said as I was slapping my head to put out the fire, "Do you understand what you must do?"

"Nope!" Dave shook his head cheerfully. "I barely even know what you're talking about!"

"Well…" GC thought for a minute. "You'll have to go and fight bad guys."

"Really?" squeaked Dave. "Does this mean… I'm a Superhero?"

"…sure," GC said as I finally walked back, my hair put out.

"AWESOME!" Dave cried, pointing his fists into the air. "From now on, I am no longer mild-mannered David… I! AM! MELTDOWN!"

Fire erupted from his feet as he blasted off, grazing over my head as he flew circles in the sky.

"…Meltdown?" GC asked, his gaze following Dave. "That's an… interesting name."

"Well Dave's an… interesting person," I replied. GC turned to me again, and for a minute I thought he was going to tell me something important like "guard Dave with your life," but instead, the first thing that came out of his mouth was:

"Your hair's on fire again."

And it was. Once again, I screamed as I dropped to the ground, ripping out dirt and throwing it at my burning head to try to put it out. As I was doing this, Dave landed back on the ground, laughing like a kid with a new toy.

"Where are the bad guys?" he asked, hopping from one foot to the other in excitement.

"Patience, patience…" GC said. "The Bad Guy is in the Castle City at the center of this land, but first, you must find and bring with you a person who's in the Mountains to the north."

"Okay!" Dave nodded eagerly as I stood back up, rubbing my head in pain. "Ready, Paulo?"

"Ready?" I asked. "Ready for whaaaaAAAAAAUGH!"

I was interrupted as Dave grabbed my arms under his own and flew into the sky, shooting fire out of his feet to do so.

"JUST REMEMBER!" GC screamed after us as we flew through the sky, "ONLY WHEN ALL SIX WORK TOGETHER CAN THE MONSTER BE DEFEATED!"

And like that, he was just a tiny dot in the distance as Dave flew above the clouds, darting north.

And I'm not ashamed to say that I nearly pissed myself on the way there.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Another "slow" chapter, I know, but stay with me my friends! If you've been paying attention, you'll notice these sections are broken up into segments I keep track of called "hours" that you can usually see from the "School" chapters. For example, right now we're on Hour 3, so after the chapter with Ned's castle we'll wind up on Hour 4. But once we hit Hour 5… well, I think Doc Brown said it best: "You're gonna see some serious shit." Until then, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	23. Chapter 23: The School, Hour 3

**Author's Note: And now, we return to a chapter that should seem like déjà vu to you. Well, enjoy!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 23: The School, Hour 3<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>Enter McCain:<strong>_

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><p>By the time I left the cafeteria, clutching the wad of napkins to my open wound, the sound of gunfire and carnage had stopped. On my way out, I passed by Sue talking to a group of students.<p>

"Alright, listen up," she said. "We have to make sure to keep that section of the school under constant guard. And I don't want anyone here to go in there under any circumstances!"

"But…" one student interjected. "The nurse's office is over there. What if we need medical supplies?"

Sue had to pause for a minute to think.

"…we'll manage," she said. "But we can NOT, under any circumstances, let anyone get over there. We can't risk more lives like that."

"In the mean time," Tom added, "we need to check out this side of the school and make sure nothing snuck in, right?"

"Yeah," Sue nodded. "That was actually what I was going to cover next. Group up and comb the school, check any and all empty rooms for anything hiding."

"Um… Sue? Ma'am?" A Freshman asked. "I mean commander? I mean…"

"Just speak up," Sue interrupted.

"Right," he gulped. "Well… I don't think we have enough students to look over the whole school. We lost a few in that battle, and we still need a chunk to stand guard to make sure no more monsters come in… right?"

"…you're right," Sue admitted, scratching her chin in thought. "Hm…"

"It's fine, I can search a bit of the school alone," offered Tom, loading up the shotgun.

"…fine," Sue nodded after a minute of thought. "But don't go into any places like Bathrooms or Locker Rooms without a partner!"

"Worried about the clichés attacking?" Tom asked jokingly.

"Look, I don't want to take any chances!" Sue defended.

"I know, I know…" Tom said, and the rest I didn't catch as I limped down the hallway, leaning against a wall and breathing deeply.

"Okay…" I said to myself. "Keep yourself calm, McCain… You're going to be alright…"

My body didn't seem to want to cooperate with my mind, however, for every beat my heart took made my side sting more. I pressed the napkins harder against my side and winced, feeling the warm liquid slowly start to seep through.

I'm not sure how much time passed, but when I opened my eyes again, I saw Tom walk by, heading toward the door of the Locker Room.

"Hey." My sharp voice made him turn to me.

"I thought you told Sue you weren't going into that alone…" I said accusingly, attempting to stand on my own two feet without the support of the wall. The attempt made me feel like throwing up.

"Whoa, McCain!" Tom said, running forward and leaning me back against the wall. "You look seriously bad man…"

"I'll be alright," I insisted, even though I knew deep down he was probably right. "Look, you need some backup in there. Sue said it's too dangerous to go in by yourself."

"Who am I going to take in? You?" Tom shook his head. "No way. You're way hurt as it is, I'm not taking another chance with you."

"Tom…" I tried to interject, but he was already heading to the locker room door by that point. He pushed the door open…

…and a snarling beast met him, slamming him into the ground and running past. I stepped forward to try and stop it, but it wound up slamming me into the wall, making stars dance in front of my eyes and horrid pain flash through my body. I never got a good glance of the beast, but I heard it crash through the window, and a minute later, Tom next to me and helping me back up on my feet against the wall.

"Stay here," he told me as I opened my eyes. I watched him rush to the window as a group of Seniors and even Sue showed up.

"SHOOT HIM!" a Senior shouted. "SHOOT HIM!"

There was a minute of delay, as if everyone in the group was debating what to do, before one Senior finally got up the guts to snatch the gun from Tom and fire at the monster outside. I heard the sound of a body falling to the ground with a thump, which was odd since I was used to the monsters just turning into paper when they died.

"That IDIOT!" Sue shouted. "I told him NOT to go into the locker room by himself! But he didn't listen!"

"Ahem," Tom said, tapping Sue on the shoulder. She whirled to him, looking surprised.

"…so that wasn't…" she started quietly.

"No," Tom shook his head. "He was a kid hiding out in there to avoid a test."

"…oh," Sue said, seeming sorry that she screamed at an innocent bystander. From what I gathered, a monster took the kid that was hiding out in the locker room and crashed outside. Everyone paused because they were afraid of hurting the kid, but I guess the monster killed him, and the kid's body is what I heard hitting the ground.

"…Sue?" a faint, familiar voice from outside asked. "Guys!"

"Mike?" a few of the students asked. I leaned my head past to see Mike looking at us from the other side of the window. His fur looked cold and, if I wasn't mistaken, had a few snowflakes on it.

"It IS Mike!" Sue said happily, helping Mike in through the broken window. "Oh my God, what happened? We saw you guys get sucked into the dome, I didn't think…"

"I'm fine," Mike replied, holding his hands up to stop her. "Really, just… cold. But what happened here?"

"The Dome isn't a dome anymore, that's what happened," I finally said, shakily pushing myself away from the wall and standing on my own two feet, to the disapproval of Tom. "It turned into a wall surrounding us, as you've already seen. Monsters started coming out of them, we've been fighting against them and defending this school for the past hour… God…"

This last part I added as I felt a wave of nausea wash through me again.

"What happened to you?" Mike asked, his eyes darting down to the napkins I held against my side that by this point were doing no good in stopping the blood.

"Monster," I told him dismissively, not wanting to worry anyone any further. "I wasn't paying attention and…"

"Oh… McCain, you don't look so good," Sue said, fully noticing me for the first time. I turned my head up, looking at the worry etched into her face. I contemplated admitting my condition, feeling the blood leave my face. I honestly felt like I could pass out at any minute. It was for the best that I tell her the truth, at least. Or… at least, give her the option of hearing it.

"Do you want me to tell you what you want to hear, or the truth?" I finally asked.

"Truth," Sue answered without hesitation.

"I'm not doing… so well…" I forced out. My knees buckled, and I fell toward the ground as my head grew light. Sue caught me in her arms and started to say something to the group, but I couldn't make out what it was being said. It didn't take long for black rings to appear in my vision, and I finally passed out.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: I'm sorry that this chapter is short. Really, I am, I would honestly make it longer, but I know it'll take McCain at LEAST an hour to recover from that, and there's no point in labeling these chapters by the hour if I don't actually write them according to it, right? Anyway, sorry for the hiatus, but again, my laptop got hit with a Malware attack, and I had to wipe everything out. Thank God I saved my stories beforehand, but re-installing everything is a PAIN. I had to wait half a day just to play Team Fortress 2 again (my username's tiny260 in case anyone wants to blow heads off together BTW, just know I'm a backstabbing spy)! Well… I suppose it could be worse, right? At least my laptop still works! Anyway, that's all for now, and until Friday, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>

**PS: I want your opinion. If it's possible for me to move these chapters to a website that actually earns me money for everyone that reads it, would you take the extra time out of your schedule to check it out on that website? Just askin'…**


	24. Chapter 24: The King and Heroine

**Author's Note: It's been awhile, I'm sorry. Writer's block coupled with AP Chemistry along with getting involved in more games lately… I now understand why Keybladeboy hasn't updated his story in awhile. Kudos man, I understand how you feel. ANYWAY, back to the story!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 24: The King and Heroine<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>Enter Ned:<strong>_

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><p>"…wait, really?" I asked, blinking at Daisy. The two of us were sitting on our thrones, alone in the throne room.<p>

"Mm-hmm," she nodded.

"Wow…" I blinked, leaning against my throne. "I had no idea that's really what a girl's bathroom looks like."

"Don't worry, a lot of guys don't," Daisy shrugged. "You're not missing much, trust me."

"Your highness!" a guard called out, running in. "The Mind Reaper has returned!"

"Really?" I asked, sitting up. "Well, send him in!"

The guard nodded, turning and running back to the door. A moment later, the room seemed to grow colder as the Mind Reaper walked into the room, dragging an unconscious girl with him.

"…huh?" I blinked. "Who's the girl?"

_I found her while hunting the Monsters, your highness, _a silky voice said in my head, making my shiver. Daisy's shivering let me know that I wasn't the only one that heard it.

"Um… wow, that's new," I blinked.

_The Yibirth Macisto took the liberty of branching off my powers,_ explained the Mind Reaper.

"Oh," I nodded. "…but hey, is she okay?"

"Wait… I think I know her…" blinked Daisy. "…yeah, I DO know her!"

"You do?" I asked, turning to her.

"Yeah!" Daisy said, looking excited. "She's Lucy! She's one of the people that came with me… um… came with me…"

She put her hand against her head, her face in deep thought.

"…that's weird…" she said. "I can't remember HOW I came here…"

"Really?" I blinked, looking at her. "Well… what's the last thing you remember?"

"I…" Daisy closed her eyes. "I remember… coming to the castle… you rescued me from a field of monsters, right?"

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><p><em><strong>Enter Lucy:<strong>_

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><p>"Yeah, I did," a young voice said as I regained consciousness. I slowly blinked awake as I looked around at my surroundings. I was in a huge throne room inside a castle, and standing nearby in front of me was… well, what looked like that kid I saw yesterday, only he was taller, and wearing a crown and regal clothes. Next to him was…<p>

"Daisy?" I asked, raising my head. I could feel my body bump against a figure, and when I looked up, I saw the monster holding onto me.

"HEY!" I screamed, struggling against the iron strong hold. "LET GO OF ME!"

"Lucy, wait!" Daisy said, running up to me. "Don't worry, it may be scary, but it's working for us!"

"…what?" I asked, staring at her. "What the hell are you talking about? That thing attacked me and almost choked me to death!"

_My apologies,_ a voice spoke in my head. _It was never my intention to hurt you, only to save you from that monster you were with._

"Save me?" I snapped my head up at it, not even surprised that it could transmit thoughts to me at this point. "That monster tried to help me, you idiot! If you were so eager to help me, why didn't you SAY anything?"

_Would you have believed me?_ It asked.

"Who's to say I believe you now?" I replied, narrowing my eyes at the thing. The monster, in turn, tightened its hold on me.

"Please you two, stop arguing!" Daisy said. "Lucy, just let us explain… this thing is the Mind Reaper, Lord Ned-"

"LORD Ned?" I asked her. "…really?"

"He is a king and should be treated as such!" Daisy said indignantly. I was starting to get a little worried about her.

"So as I was saying…" she continued. "He created it to stop the monsters from passing onto the other world."

"Monsters are… what?" I asked. "And… wait…"

I turned to the kid, apparently named Ned. "YOU'RE the one who made all this?"

"Um…" Ned blinked. "…are you angry?"

"Oh no, of course not," I said evenly. "I'm not angry at you."

"…really?" asked Ned in relief. "Oh, that's good-"

"I'M **FURIOUS** WITH YOU!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, struggling once again against the Mind Reaper. "LET GO OF ME! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?"

Ned winced away. "I-I'm sorry about the monsters! Really, I lost control of them and-"

"Oh the monsters are a WHOLE different topic, but that's not what I'm talking about!" I snapped. "I'm talking about the fucking Dome that sucked us all in!"

"Dome?" asked Ned. "Wait… Daisy, you talked about that when you first arrived, right?"

"I… I can't remember…" Daisy rubbed her temple with her fingers, looking like she was straining to remember.

"Can't remember… it happened, like, a couple of hours ago!" I said, feeling a little concerned for her. "A black dome spread through my house and sucked me in! You guys tried to save me, but we all wound up getting pulled in!"

"All of you?" asked Ned. "So… that's you, Daisy and… that guy that attacked us with the sword?"

"I don't remember being pulled into anything…" Daisy muttered. "…I don't even know who that guy was…"

"What…" I stared at Daisy. "Daisy, I need to know. Does the name Mike mean anything to you?"

"Mike?" Daisy asked. "Um… no."

"Paulo?"

"No."

"David?"

"I… no, I thought I had something for a minute…"

I gulped. "What about Abby?"

"…who?" Daisy asked. I felt like a heavy rock dropped in my gut.

"What did you do to her?" I suddenly screamed at Ned again, making him jump. The sinking feeling was replaced with rage in a very brief instant. "You totally brainwashed her! She can't remember any of her friends, she's calling you Lord…"

"I didn't… I mean… I just…" Ned was trying to say, shaking a bit.

_Perhaps it's not Daisy that's being influenced, but you,_ suggested the Mind Reaper.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I snapped.

_Maybe the monster that was with her rewrote her mind, _the Mind Reaper said. _That would explain her violent attitude, as well as her defending the monster she was with._

"That thing didn't rewrite ANYTHING!" I said. "He actually tried to help me! He pointed the way to the exit!"

_She's clearly delusional,_ the Mind Reaper said. _I think it would be for the best if we kept her contained in the dungeon, for her own safety._

"Well…" Ned thought. "I really don't want her down in the dungeon if she's not acting of her own will…"

"I AM ACTING COMPLETELY OF MY OWN WILL, YOU IDIOTS!" I screamed, fighting against the increasingly tighter bonds the Mind Reaper had on me.

_My Lord,_ the Mind Reaper said respectfully, _if we place her anywhere else, there's a chance she may hurt herself or others._

"Well… when you put it that way…" sighed Ned. "I'm sorry Lucy, you really seem like a nice person-"

"FUCK YOU, SQUIRREL!"

"…but we need to keep everyone safe," Ned finished. "Mind Reaper, if you could just take her?"

_Of course, my Lord,_ the Mind Reaper said with a bow, dragging me off.

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><p>"Oof!" I grunted as I hit the ground of a cell. The Mind Reaper slammed the cell door shut, locking it behind me.<p>

_Don't worry, _the Mind Reaper said in a tone much darker than the one he used with Ned and Daisy. _I wouldn't dream of leaving you here alone. I'll be back for you._

I turned to him and growled, standing to my feet.

"As soon as I get out of this cell-" I started.

_You'll murder me, I know,_ replied the Mind Reaper with a bored tone. _Everything will happen in time. And then… we'll see just how well you'll hold up to that promise._

With that, it turned and left, leaving me alone in the dark dungeon. I sighed as I relaxed against the wall, only letting myself do so after it left. I mentally recapped to myself the events that happened so far as I sat on the cold stone floor.

Good news: I knew where Daisy was, as well as one of my other friends.

Bad news: I was locked in a dungeon, one of that kid's monsters was ready to come back after me, said monster could read my mind, Daisy was brainwashed, my other friend was probably captured too, I didn't know where everyone else was…

So, considering all this, I think I can be forgiven for feeling a little pessimistic. As I was sitting there, trying to think of a plan of action to break out, I head a growling noise from the cell across from me. I looked up and strained to see, but my eyes hadn't quite adjusted to the dark yet.

"…who's there?" I asked. I was met with another growl.

"Hold a lot of conversations, buddy?" I asked sarcastically. I had just went through hell and back, I wasn't letting anything intimidate me at this point.

"Shut up," a dark, growling voice replied sharply. It sounded almost familiar for some reason, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"You're not going to get very many girls with that," I said, assuming the voice belonged to a male.

"Do you have to keep running your mouth after I told you to shut up?" the voice snapped.

"No," I replied with a smirk. "I'm doing it by my own free will."

"I swear, I'm going to rip you limb from limb when I get out of this cage…" the voice growled.

"Oh, I'm so scared," I said as I strained my eyes at the other cell. I could make out a vague shape, but no details just yet…

"You should be…" the voice growled. "I've taken down an entire army single-handed, I can rip you in half with a single thought."

"You talk big for a guy in a prison," I said as I finally adjusted to the dark, blinking hard a few times. "If you could really do all that, why don't you just 'think' me dead right…"

I couldn't finish my sentence as I finally made out who the figure in the far cell was. His features were dark and he had an evil look on his face, but there was no mistaking him…

It was Abby. The guy they captured, the person who threatened my life without a second thought… was Abby.

"What are you looking at, bitch?" he snarled.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Aha! Turns out the best cure for Writer's block is time! Well, until next time and the next "school" chapter, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	25. Chapter 25: Reunion

**Author's Note: Alright, I'm getting back into the swing of things… and I'll have to do my chemistry homework later. Not to mention get back to playing Ultima, I have those other games I just got, practice my skills for Nursing… man, college leveled classes are hard! Well I guess they're getting me on track to prepare myself for actual College work… but enough about me. Enjoy, guys!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 25: Reunion<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>Enter Mike:<strong>_

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><p>The snow crunched under my feet as I walked by the frozen river, southward bound. I had no idea where Paulo was, but I figured following the river would be my best bet. The sound of rushing water up ahead told me that I was approaching the line that separated between the snowy mountains and the grassy plane.<p>

"Alright…" I said to myself taking a breath as I made sure the shotgun was loaded. "Okay… I only have six bullets in this thing… gotta make them count…"

I walked forward, staying by the river when I saw something flash in the corner of my eye. I turned to it, confused. The "flash" was a tiny, red dot in the sky that was… growing?

"What…?" I blinked up at the growing dot in the sky, which slowly took on more details. The "red" grew to be fire, and in the center was a humanoid figure, holding onto another figure. As it grew in size, the thought occurred to me to jump out of the way. As I acted on this thought, the massive thing of fire crashed on the spot I was at, letting off a blast of heat and sound from the crash. I fell on my face, my back burning with heat and the snow around me melting.

"That was AWESOME!" a familiar voice said as I pulled myself up. "Wasn't it, Paulo? …Paulo?"

"That's not the word I would have chosen…" moaned Paulo's voice. Growing excited, I quickly stood up and spun around to see Paulo sprawled out on the ground near Dave's feet. Dave himself looked different, with bright red fur and orange streaks that made it almost look like his fur was on fire. In fact… he actually WAS on fire.

"Dave?" I asked, slowly approaching them. "Paulo?"

"Mike!" Dave cheered, hugging me and, consequently, burning me. "We found you! Where have you been? We've been looking all over the place, flying here and there and…"

"Dave… burning… ow…" I groaned in pain.

"Oh, sorry!" Dave quickly let me go as Paulo stood up, patting himself down. "Guess I don't know my own strength! Superheroes DO have super strength, after all."

"…superhero?" I asked.

"It's a LONG story," Paulo sighed, approaching me. "He is right though, we've been searching this mountain range for awhile looking for someone, but we had no idea WHO it would be."

"Look, I don't care, I'm just glad to see you!" I laughed in delight. "C'mon, the barrier's just north!"

I grabbed Paulo by the wrist and started running, but he soon dragged me to a halt.

"Wait a minute, slow down!" he said. "What are you talking about?"

"…you're right, Dave will be faster!" I agreed. "Dave, can you fly us north?"

"Sure!" Dave said cheerfully, shooting fire out of his feet and floating in the air. "I can fly us anywhere!"

"Get DOWN, Dave!" Paulo said, waving him back to the ground.

"Aw…" Dave landed back and sulked.

"What… but Paulo, Dave can get us out of here in no time flat!" I told him. "Look, there's a sort of barrier to the north of here. If we pass through it, we'll get back to the school!"

"Really?" Paulo asked, excitement in his voice. He quickly regained his composure, however, and took a deep breath.

"Well, at least we know where to go afterward," he finally said.

"Afterward?" I asked. "After… what, exactly?"

"Look," Paulo explained, "this is going to sound crazy, but this weird fish-man-thing suddenly came to us-"

"Oh that's not crazy at all," I assured him. "I saw it too, when I first landed here."

"Oh… well that explains a lot of explanation…" Paulo muttered to himself. "Anyway, it came and told us that apparently Dave is the 'Chosen One' that's supposed to save the world from some mind reading monster."

"…I'm sorry, what?" I asked, not quite believing what I just heard.

"Look, it's hard for me to swallow too, okay?" he replied. "But then again, we're in a world where Dragons put curses on people, there's a fish-man, and a glowing red orb makes Dave catch on fire and fly with said fire."

"And super strength!" Dave piped in.

"Dave… why don't you practice melting that frozen river over there?" Paulo pointed.

"Okay!" Dave nodded cheerfully before turning and shooting fire out of his hands, aimed at the frozen river near us.

"…and he reminded me of that thing Dave said back before we got sucked into the dome," Paulo continued, turning back to me.

"Oh yeah…" I nodded in memory. "When it looked like he was possessed…?"

"Exactly," Paulo nodded. "If I remember right… one is stuck in the forest, one's corrupted by the dark sword, one the corrupted person's trying to save, one lost hope in the mountains, one's stuck with the chosen one, and finally, the chosen one."

"So… you're saying that prophesy is talking about us?" I asked him.

"Exactly!" Paulo said in the same excited tone that an eccentric detective would get when he was onto an important clue. "Dave's obviously the chosen one, I'm stuck with him, so that fills my role, and we found you in the mountains… but you don't look any more hopeless than you usually do."

"Hey!" I protested.

"That leaves three," continued Paulo with a tiny smirk, "and if the Prophesy's to be believed, one's in the middle of the forest, so maybe they made it out okay, but one's been corrupted and the other's been kidnapped or put in some kind of danger! Best case scenario, we still have two guys somewhere in this world, and if the fish guy's right…"

He turned and pointed to a city with a castle in the center of it in the distance. "…they'll be somewhere in there."

"…" I said nothing, simply watching Paulo. After a minute, he turned back to me.

"Well?" he asked. "What are you doing standing around? C'mon, Dave can fly us in and-"

"We can't go in," I cut him off, shaking my head. "It's way too dangerous."

"…what are you talking about?" Paulo asked, staring at me with wide eyes. "These are our FRIENDS you're talking about! Daisy could be in there, or Abby! Even Lucy-"

"Paulo, look around you!" I interrupted, throwing my hands in the air. "We're in the middle of a great big fantasy novel! But no, that's not the worst part. You know what's going on out there? At our school, back in the real world?"

"No, but-" started Paulo.

"Hell, Paulo," I said in a dark voice. "The place went to hell. Half the school is dead, turned into zombies. The other half is sheltered in, afraid for their lives. McCain was bleeding to death the last time I saw him, and I don't even know if the medical supplies we got were enough to help him! The only reason I came back here was because Jasmine asked me to come get you."

I turned away from him, facing the cold mountains and, somewhat indirectly, the barrier that separated this world from the real world.

"We're a couple of teenagers," I continued. "We're waving around weapons, pretending we know what we're doing, but we're still just a bunch of dumb kids. In here or out there, it's over. The sole reason I'm taking you back to Jasmine is so she'll see you before she dies."

There was a moment of silence. Even Dave paused what he was doing and stood in silence. Then, the quiet was broken when Paulo hit me in the back of the head.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he yelled at me. "What kind of attitude is that?"

"It's a realistic attitude!" I snapped back, spinning to him. "Face it, the world is ending, and-"

"Shut up, okay?" Paulo interrupted me. "Just shut your fat fucking mouth for ONE minute! I know it's hard for you, but try to actually LISTEN!"

I glared at him, clenching my fists but otherwise staying quiet.

"So the world's going to shit," Paulo said with a shrug. "From what you're saying, it's because monsters are coming out of the Dome?"

I nodded.

"So that means they're all coming from in here," Paulo reasoned. "Maybe they're coming from that castle, who knows? All I know is that, while we're here, we should save the others!"

I turned my head away from him.

"…Mike, what would you do if it were Sandy in this situation?" he finally asked, striking a chord in me. I was visibly shaking now, but from rage or sorrow not even I could tell at that moment.

"…you're pathetic," Paulo finally spat when I didn't answer. "I know you hit a low, but this is an all-time low. You're no better than the son of a bitch that started this hell in the first place!"

He was stepping closer to me as he said this, finally pushing against my chest.

"You want to stay here and be an emo?" he asked. "A misunderstood teen? Only doing what you think is best because it's what's easiest for you? Fine. Stay here and do that all you want, but don't expect us to hang around and watch!"

He turned away from me, walking back to Dave, who was watching with wide, hurt eyes, like those of a child watching his parents fight.

"Let's go, Dave," Paulo said to his best friend. "We can fly over the walls surrounding the city, break into the castle and save our friends."

"But… what about Mike?" Dave pointed.

"What ABOUT him?" Paulo asked with an air of disgust. Dave looked back at me for a minute before falling in line with Paulo. I blinked hard, bringing my hand up to my face to feel tears coming out of my eyes.

What would I do if it were Sandy in that situation…

Doing what I think is best… because it's easiest…

My friends…

…Lucy.

I clenched my fist and looked up, newfound determination sparked in my heart.

"WAIT!" I cried after them, running.

"Oh for the love of… what is it NOW?" Paulo asked, turning to face me.

"You can't fly into the city," I told them.

"Watch us," Paulo spat, turning around. I caught him by his shoulder.

"This time, you listen to ME," I told him. "If you fly in from high, they'll see you coming a mile away. Dave was clearly visible even in bright daylight what with his fire."

I pointed to the river, drawing Paulo's eye, and drew an imaginary line following it toward the castle. "From here, you can see the river leads into the city. It doesn't look like it's pooling into a lake, either, so that means the river runs right through the town, which would also mean there's some kind of passage for the water to go through. If we go through that passage, we can enter without detection."

"…" Paulo turned back to me, a look of confusion on his face. After a minute though, his usual expression came back and he asked me, "So, what made you finally decide to grow a pair?"

I smirked at him grimly. "Hey, If I'm going to die, I might as well go out actually DOING something."

"You know…" Paulo thought for a minute before patting me on the shoulder. "When you pull your head out of your own ass for a minute, you're a halfway decent guy."

"I'll take that as a complement," I nodded. "C'mon, we got a lot of swimming up ahead."

"But… but the water will put out my fire!" Dave whined as Paulo and I started off next to the river.

"You can dry yourself off after, you big baby," Paulo said. "'Sides, you flew straight through clouds and came out the other side totally soaked and you were still okay."

"What if the only reason that happened was because the Sky God blessed me?" Dave asked, falling in step next to the two of us.

"Sky God?" I laughed.

"It's a long story…" sighed Paulo, pinching the bridge of his nose. I looked down at the shotgun I was still lugging around in my hand.

"…I got one, too," I finally told him. "Tell yours, first. We've got a long walk ahead."

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><p><strong>Author's Note: All the pieces are starting to fall into place! Tune in Friday to see the exciting… school chapter. After that though comes Lucy's chapter, and the chapter after THAT is when shit starts to his the fan. 'Till then, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>


	26. Chapter 26: The School, Hour 4

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is late. Aw well, enjoy!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 26: The School, Hour 4<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>Enter McCain:<strong>_

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><p>My eyes snapped open as I woke up from a nightmare I couldn't remember. Cold sweat was on my face as I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. I slowly sat up, taking in where I was.<p>

It was a small classroom, the desks already moved. I was on a mat on the floor, my torso covered with bandages. My sunglasses were sitting beside me, along with a few medical supplies. I quickly donned the glasses before slowly climbing back to my feet. My head felt light, but I managed to move to a wall and lean against it, keeping myself in a standing position. I blinked hard, rubbing the side of my head.

"Geeze…" I muttered, feeling the world spin when I closed my eyes. I heard someone else mutter something, and I turned my head to the side of the room that I missed. Sitting on a chair was a Sophomore, his head leaned back on the wall as he slept. I leaned my own head back against the wall as I looked at my own hand.

"…okay," I breathed. "So… I'm alive. Good. I was afraid I was going to bleed out for a minute…"

I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath. "God… how long have I been out?"

Silence was my only answer. A few minutes later, the door opened, and Sue stepped in.

"Hey Steve, how's McCain doing-" she started, but she stopped short when she saw my mat was empty and the kid-apparently he was Steve-sleeping.

"STEVE!" she shouted, making him snap awake. "Where's McCain?"

"Huh?" Steve blinked. "Um… h-he was here a minute ago…"

Sue opened her mouth to scream again, but I called attention to myself by clearing my throat. She spun toward me, a look of relief passing on her face.

"Oh, McCain!" she said, running to me and wrapping me in a hug. "Thank God, I was afraid… I mean, you were losing so much blood…"

"I'm fine, don't worry…" I answered, patting her on the back. "Where did you get the medical supplies from?"

"Mike, he and Jasmine, they ran into the condemned part of the school and…" started Sue, when suddenly it seemed like she realized she was hugging me. She quickly pulled away and turned her face away from me, blushing.

"…but yeah," she finally said, regaining her composure. "They got the medical supplies from the Nurse's office."

"Alright…" I said. "But again, how long have I been out?"

"Almost two hours, now," Sue answered.

"Two hours…" I muttered, looking down at my torso. "How the hell did I survive?"

"You're the luckiest son of a bitch alive, that's how," Sue grinned. "That… THING that stabbed you, it missed practically everything. Your ribs are intact, your organs are all okay…"

"…wow," was all I could manage to say. "Alright… so, what happened while I was out?"

Sue's face fell as she looked down. "…we lost a lot more students."

"The monsters are ruthless!" added Steve, finally speaking up. "They've been storming this place left and right! We're in the only safe building in this whole damned school, and these THINGS are just waiting out there!"

"…how many of us are left?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"…twelve, including us," Sue said solemnly. "We're all that's left standing between this school and those monsters."

"T-twelve?" I asked in shock, leaning against the wall and feeling blood rush through my body. "H-how… I mean, in only two hours…?"

"The monsters SWARMED," Sue clarified. "Steve was being… optimistic when he said we have this building. In truth, we only have a hallway consisting of three classrooms, and even that's only because the monsters haven't closed in to kill us yet."

"They're playing with us…" Steve muttered. "They're just sitting out there… waiting. They know we're sitting ducks. They want to attack us, but they want a scared meal… this is it! We're not going to win! It's game over, man! Game over!"

Sue sighed, giving Steve a sound hit to the side of the head. "Get a hold of yourself, soldier!"

Steve blinked hard, then snapped to attention. "I'm sorry for that breakdown, boss! Do you need a guard around the perimeter?"

"No, just… look, we need to make sure no monsters invade this room," Sue finally said.

"Understood!" saluted Steve, standing near the door. I stared at him, wondering what was wrong with him.

"…c'mon McCain, I need to talk to you about… battle strategies," Sue finally said, dragging me out of the room and closing the door behind her.

"He's snapped, hasn't he?" I asked. Sue gave a deep sigh and leaned her forehead against the wall.

"I just… I don't know what to do anymore…" she said, her voice wavering. "Everyone's either dead, dying or going crazy. We're almost out of ammo, we lost most of our guns… maybe we should just end it right now, save ourselves from being ripped into shreds by those monsters, or worse, turning into those zombies…"

"Sue."

I grabbed her shoulders firmly, turning her and making her look me in the face. "Listen to yourself. You CAN'T give up now."

"What's the point?" shouted Sue, her eyes welling with tears. "Everyone's dead, McCain! The few people that are still alive won't be able to stand against the monsters if they attack! You're always the one that looks at things realistically, do YOU think we have any chance?"

It was then I said something I never thought I'd ever hear myself say:

"Fuck realism. We're being attacked by monsters made out of paper coming in through a magical black wall, I don't think realism applies anymore. Now listen to me Sue, you are the bravest, most brilliant woman I know. You organized a whole group of people that pretty much hated each other toward a common goal, you organized a whole SCHOOL full of kids against monsters and held your ground against them for the better part of an hour, and I KNOW you can handle this."

"…wait a minute…" muttered Sue, looking down in thought. "McCain, what was that you said about the monsters?"

"Just that they're coming through the wall-" I started.

"Nono, the part about them being made of-" Sue started as I suddenly got it.

"Paper!" I interrupted. "Right! In the sewer, one of the monsters practically fell apart when it landed in-"

"Water!" continued Sue. Her face was lighting up as she was grabbing my hands in excitement. "So if we gather enough of it and sprayed the monsters with it-"

"They'd fall apart uselessly, leaving them open-"

"For us to beat them into literal pulp!"

We were silent for a minute, then finally realized we were holding each other's hands. Both of us blushed slightly, but… neither one of us were making a motion to pull away.

Well… for awhile, anyway.

"Sue… we really don't have time for this," I told her, pulling my hands away.

"Oh…" Sue looked a little hurt as she let her arms fall limply to her sides. "Alright… I understand, we're kind of in a crisis situation here…"

"…just between us, though," I said after a thought, "as soon as this is over and we're all safe, I plan on 'celebrating' with you until I collapse from exhaustion."

It took Sue a few moments of stunned silence to finally retort.

"W-what, with your injury?" she stammered. "You'd be down in five minutes, tops."

"We'll work out that bet when the time comes," I told her with a slight smirk. "First though, we need-"

"A map of the school's pipe system, yeah," nodded Sue. "That would probably be in either the janitorial office or the front office… both of which are in the 'condemned' area of the school."

"Well then…" a strange voice said behind us. We both turned around to see Augustus standing in the hall, his body scarred and one arm hanging limp by his side. The other arm was holding a loaded shotgun.

"If we're gonna die anyway, let's go out charging those bastards," he said.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Short AND late, I am SO sorry. I honestly have NO idea how the school chapters are gonna end up, but I do know that next chapter will come back to Lucy and the gang, so until then, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!<strong>

**PS: When I said two hours, I mean McCain passed out at the beginning of Hour 3 and woke up at the end of Hour 4. The next school chapter will start out at the beginning of Hour 5 though, so don't worry!**


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